Triple immunological staining with colloidal gold, fluorescein and rhodamine as labels.
Colloidal gold particles are detectable by light microscopy with polarized light in the same epi-illumination system as for fluorescence microscopy. Colloidal gold particles can thus be used in combination with a fluorochrome for the combined immunological detection of surface membrane and cytoplasmic markers. We analyzed human bone marrow cells by a triple immunological staining for 3 different markers, using colloidal gold, fluorescein and rhodamine as labels. Our results demonstrate that such a triple immunological staining provides a powerful tool for study of the heterogeneity of small cell populations.