opsonified
/ɑpˈsɑnɪfaɪd/
adjective
- Describing a pathogen or particle that has been marked by antibodies or other substances so that immune cells can recognize and destroy it more easily.
- The opsonified bacteria were quickly engulfed by white blood cells.
- The vaccine works by creating opsonified targets that the body can attack.
- In the lab, the opsonified virus particles were used to test the immune response.
verb
- Past tense of opsonify; to have made a pathogen or particle more recognizable to immune cells.
- The antibodies opsonified the foreign cells, marking them for destruction.
- The researchers opsonified the sample to study how macrophages respond.
- Once the immune system opsonified the invaders, the infection cleared quickly.