Immunochemical techniques in tissue engineering and biomaterial science

Publisher Summary Immunochemical techniques are used to detect the expression of a particular antigen expressed either on the cell membrane, inside the cell, released by cell, or in the extracellular matrix. Advantages and disadvantages exist for each immunochemical technique but the choice of technique depends largely upon the type of antigen expressed, the type of material used and the importance of qualitative versus quantitative data. These techniques are a powerful, specific, and sensitive tool for understanding cellular response to materials. However, care must be taken in immunochemical experiment design and interpretation to ensure truly representative and subjective results. This chapter presents a summary of the basic immunochemical techniques and describes some immunochemically detected markers of cellular behavior important in tissue engineering and biomaterial research. While the chapter focuses on in vitro biomaterial research, immunochemical techniques are also frequently used to understand complex biomaterial–cellular interactions in vivo. For example, orthopedic bone–implant-interface tissue is analyzed frequently by immunochemical techniques to understand the complex multi-factorial and multi-cellular process involved in implant osseointegration and rejection that are impossible to model accurately in vitro.