Immunocytochemistry (ICC), Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Immunofluorescence (IF) all utilize antibodies to provide visual details about protein abundance, distribution, and localization.

IHC is a staining technique that utilizes specific antibodies to identify the presence or absence of specific protein antigens by a chromogenic detection system. IHC is widely used in basic research and clinical laboratories because this technique makes it possible to visualize the distribution and localization of specific cellular components in an appropriate tissue context.

The difference between ICC and IHC is whether it detects the target antigen in the cell or the tissue section. ICC can use adherent culture cell lines or cell line suspensions or cells isolated from humans or animals.