Title: opsonization
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - opsonization
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13526
Status: current

Definition
Coating of antigen with an opsonin to enhance phagocytosis.

Note
The interaction of opsonized complexes with Fc receptors or complement receptors facilitates their uptake by the receptor-bearing phagocytic cells.

Related Terms
- Fc receptors: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13138
- phagocytic cells: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13560
- phagocytosis: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13562

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1223 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13526/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13526/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13526/xml

Citation: Citation: 'opsonization' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13526
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-07-15T06:13:12+00:00