Immunochemistry is the study of the chemistry of the
immune system.
This involves the study of the properties, functions, interactions and production of the chemical components (antibodies/immunoglobulins, toxin, epitopes of proteins like CD4, antitoxins, cytokines/chemokines, antigens) of the immune system. It also include immune responses and determination of immune materials/products by immunochemical assays.
In addition, immunochemistry is the study of the identities and functions of the components of the immune system. Immunochemistry is also used to describe the application of immune system components, in particular antibodies, to chemically labelled antigen molecules for visualization.
Various methods in immunochemistry have been developed and refined, and used in scientific study, from
virology to
molecular evolution. Immunochemical techniques include: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting (e.g., Western blot assay), precipitation and agglutination reactions, immunoelectrophoresis, immunophenotyping, immunochromatographic assay and cyflometry.
One of the earliest examples of immunochemistry is the
Wasserman test
The Wassermann test or Wassermann reaction (WR) is an antibody test for syphilis, named after the bacteriologist August Paul von Wassermann, based on complement fixation. It was the first blood test for syphilis and the first in the nontreponema ...
to detect
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
.
Svante Arrhenius was also one of the pioneers in the field; he published ''Immunochemistry'' in 1907 which described the application of the methods of physical chemistry to the study of the theory of
toxins and
antitoxins
An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin. Antitoxins are produced by certain animals, plants, and bacteria in response to toxin exposure. Although they are most effective in neutralizing toxins, they can also ...
.
Immunochemistry is also studied from the aspect of using
antibodies
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...
to label
epitopes
An epitope, also known as antigenic determinant, is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. The epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. The p ...
of interest in cells (
immunocytochemistry
Immunocytochemistry (ICC) is a common laboratory technique that is used to anatomically visualize the localization of a specific protein or antigen in cells by use of a specific primary antibody that binds to it. The primary antibody allows visual ...
) or tissues (
immunohistochemistry
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the most common application of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens (proteins) in cells of a tissue section by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to an ...
).
References
{{Authority control
Branches of immunology