Citrate Buffer Powder

Boster’s Citrate Buffer Pack is an IHC antigen retrieval reagent used in heat induced epitope retrieval (HIER) for recovery of antigens masked by cross-linking during fixation.

In immunohistochemistry (IHC) the most commonly used fixatives for preserving cell morphology and tissue architecture cause cross-linkages that mask epitopes, leading to poor or no staining. To reverse the loss of antigenicity and enable the primary antibodies to bind antigens, Heat-Induced Epitope Retrieval (HIER) is used to unmask epitopes by breaking the methylene bridges formed during fixation. During the process of HIER the buffer helps unfold the proteins, improving the accessibility of antibodies to tissue antigens. Citrate buffer solution is the preferred antigen retrieval buffer for most antibodies during HIER.