Ultrafast repeated staining and destaining of cell samples for tumor diagnostics

In the treatment of tumors, microenvironment plays an important role. It often contains immune cells that are so changed that they promote tumor growth. Scientists have introduced a method by which cell samples from tumors and their surroundings can rapidly (under 1 hour) be cycled through staining, destaining, and then restaining with fluorescent antibodies -- through attachment of a ''black hole quencher'' (fluorescence quencher) by means of ''click chemistry''.