Title: bioactive
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - bioactive
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13872
Status: current

Definition
Qualifier for a substance that provokes any response from a living system.

Note
This definition is derived from "material which has been designed to induce specific biological activity" and is limited to material made bioactive on purpose. However, the concept of bioactivity does not imply beneficial action only, although the term is often used positively, i.e., to reflect a beneficial action.

Related Term
- bioactivity: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13873

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 377. 'Terminology for biorelated polymers and applications (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 380 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-10-12-04)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13872/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13872/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13872/xml

Citation: Citation: 'bioactive' 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.13872
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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: 2026-05-08T08:58:55+00:00