A mathematical model of immunohistochemical preparations, which provides quantitative predictions.

A mathematical model of the reaction between primary antibody and epitope is described using the Law of Mass Action to define the reaction quantitatively. The model explains some of the peculiar properties of immunohistochemical preparations. It also predicts that antibody excess over epitope will not increase staining intensity for very avid primary antibodies. This property can be exploited to measure the amount of epitope in histological sections. The assumptions of the model are not specific to immunohistochemistry, and such reasoning should be widely applicable to tests based on highly avid detection systems with high amplification of the initial signal.