Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridisation (ISH) are fundamental techniques to study the distribution and localization of specific molecules in tissues. IHC combines anatomical, immunological and biochemical techniques to visualize different processes in tissue sections, whereas ISH involves the use of labeled DNA or RNA probes to detect and localize specific nucleic acid sequences in tissues.

Both techniques make it not only possible to visualize in situ infectious agents, extracellular matrix, cellular proteins, gene expression or mRNA transcripts, also quantification is achieved. As these techniques use biological features (such as antibody-antigen binding, RNA or DNA hybridization), they are vulnerable to small variations during the procedure. To guarantee standardization and reproducibility, automation is indispensable. Furthermore, automation also decreases the process time and the needed amount of reagents.