Immunofluorescence and Cell Sorting Review

Flashcards covering immunofluorescence techniques, key terms, and cell sorting methods based on lecture notes.

What is the primary function of immunofluorescence?

To label and localize specific proteins by utilizing antibody-antigen interactions.

What type of data does immunofluorescence typically produce?

Qualitative data, indicating where a protein is located in the cell.

What is an antibody?

A secreted protein specialized to recognize a specific antigen.

What is an antigen?

A protein that is recognized by an antibody.

What is an epitope?

The specific short peptide sequence on the antigen that an antibody recognizes.

What is the primary function of Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)?

To quantify the amount of fluorescence for each sorted cell, providing quantitative data.

What is an advantage of using multiple fluorescently-tagged antibodies in experiments?

It allows identification of cells that co-express neither, each individually, or both distinct antigens at the same time.

Which immunofluorescence tool is generally used to determine the location of an antigen (qualitative data)?

Epifluorescent Microscopy.

Which immunofluorescence tool is generally used to determine how much of an antigen is present (quantitative data)?

FACS (Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting).