Definition of Ligand
1. Noun. A substance (an atom or molecule or radical or ion) that forms a complex around a central atom.
Definition of Ligand
1. Noun. (chemistry) An ion, molecule, or functional group that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Ligand
1. a type of ion or molecule [n -S]
Medical Definition of Ligand
1.
Any molecule that binds to another, in normal usage a soluble molecule such as a hormone or neurotransmitter, that binds to a receptor. The decision as to which is the ligand and which the receptor is often a little arbitrary when the broader sense of receptor is used (where there is no implication of transduction of signal). In these cases it is probably a good rule to consider the ligand to be the smaller of the two thus in a lectin sugar interaction, the sugar would be the ligand (even though it is attached to a much larger molecule, recognition is of the saccharide).
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Ligand
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