Immunostaining

Immunostaining is the use of antibody-based methods for detecting specific proteins within a cell. In electron microscopy, immunostaning can be especially useful because elctron microscopy uses very, very thin slices of samples, and proteins can be marked and identified under this method using heavy metal particles. While useful, staining in EM is very difficult, as membrane conservation and replicability is next to impossible. 

In general, immunohistochemistry is used to stain cells in identifying structures, either using fluorescent dyes or non-fluorescent methods like enzymes. Light microscopy can be used to view the effects of the staining, reducing the costs compared to EM. Like EM, replicability and fixation protocols are still being adjusted.