Suppression of endogenous avidin-binding activity in tissues and its relevance to biotin-avidin detection systems.

As biotin-avidin systems continue to be developed for applications involving single cells, cell suspensions, and especially tissue sections, the need arises for a method of blocking endogenous avidin-binding activity. One such method is described and its proposed mechanism is discussed. Utilizing this method, endogenous avidin-binding activity was detected and suppressed in selected human and murine tissues, thus facilitating the interpretation of specific immunohistochemical staining utilizing hybridoma monoclonal antibodies in a biotin-avidin-horseradish peroxidase detection system.