The copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction is increasingly used for detection of various macromolecules and metabolites in biological samples. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the CuAAC reaction conditions in cells and tissue sections. Using the optimized CuAAC conditions, we have devised a highly sensitive immunostaining technique, based on the tyramide signal amplification/catalyzed reporter deposition (TSA/CARD) method with a novel alkyne tyramide substrate. The described method offers improved detection threshold compared to conventional immunofluorescent staining and produces significantly lower non-specific background than TSA/CARD with fluorescent tyramides.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.