System quality control is usually an antibody tested and stained every time under identical conditions to which the patient tissue has been subjected.
An example of a suitable system control antibody is vimentin. Vimentin is the most commonly used antibody for system control. Using a system control such as vimentin provides a visual account of the staining methodology (manual or an automated system) and whether or not it is working correctly. One drawback to using a system quality control is the creation of extra slides:
- One of the known positive tissue
- One slide you incubate using the vimentin
- Two slides for negative (one for negative control reagent and the other for negative tissue control)
