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✨ Cell Biology · Method

Immunofluorescence (IF)

Visualize protein localization
🎯 Difficulty ★★☆ Medium Duration About 1 day 🎯 Use Detect protein localization, distribution and co-localization in cells
📖 Principle
Primary antibody binds target; fluorescent secondary recognizes it; microscopy reveals spatial distribution
Below are 4 steps. Open each to see how to do it and add products to your shared list.

📋 Workflow

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1

Cell preparation

1 h
Seed cells on coverslips or glass-bottom dishes, prepare at suitable confluency
💡 Tip Acid-wash coverslips to promote adhesion
⚠️ Caution Optimal density for clear observation
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2

Fix and permeabilize

30 min
Fix with 4% PFA, permeabilize with Triton X-100 to expose antigens
💡 Tip Long permeabilization unsuitable for membrane proteins
⚠️ Caution Over-permeabilization damages membrane
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3

Block and primary antibody

2 h
Block to reduce non-specific binding, incubate primary antibody overnight or 1-2 h
💡 Tip Include negative control (secondary only)
⚠️ Caution Optimize primary concentration
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4

Secondary and imaging

2 h
Incubate fluorescent secondary, wash, mount with antifade+DAPI, image by fluorescence microscope
💡 Tip Incubate secondary in dark
⚠️ Caution Antifade mountant extends imaging window
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⚠️ 5 Common Beginner Mistakes

  • Poor fixation/permeabilization causes false negatives or background
  • Wrong permeabilization mislocalizes membrane proteins
  • Non-specific secondary binding elevates background
  • Photobleaching attenuates signal after imaging
  • Missing negative control weakens specificity judgment

❓ FAQ

+How to assess staining specificity?
Use secondary-only and peptide pre-adsorption controls; specific binding shows no signal.
+How to analyze co-localization?
Compute Pearson coefficient or 3D reconstruction.
+Can paraffin sections be used?
Yes, but requires dewaxing and antigen retrieval first.

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Data authenticity: Product categories from JW Supply Chain standard taxonomy; method→step→product connected. Last updated: 2026-08-23 · v3.0