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Slide stainers designed for the automated application of specific labeled antibodies, conjugated enzymes, and peroxidase to individual slides, which are applied in a specific predetermined order. These reagents are applied in small, controlled volumes to the tissue on the slides; slides are not immersed in the reagents. The slides are usually mounted in a pattern resembling a matrix (array) or rotary disposition (i.e., using robotic and carousel transfer, respectively); dedicated probes and/or pipette tips are typically used in matrix arrays, and spring-loaded syringe- or cartridge-like dispensers are used in carousel dispositions. Other special features of the stainers depend on the physical characteristics of the device. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) slide stainers deliver the proprietary reagents to several staining stations following one or more software programs; IHC slide stainers are used to identify specific proteins of interest in biological tissue, such as that occur in cancerous tissue, using an antigen/antibody reaction very similar in process to that of ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) staining except that the antigen is located on tissue that is fixed on a microscope slide. Some IHC stainers are also capable of staining slides intended for in situ hybridization (ISH), a technique that labels complementary DNA or RNA to target a specific DNA or RNA sequence in a tissue section, and less frequently, of staining slides intended for histochemistry (i.e., using special stains) tests.
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