Lexic.us

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

Literary usage of Ligand

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Journal of the American Chemical Society by American Chemical Society (1879)
"Clearly, however, intramolecular ligand atom interactions are maximized in D3h ... If the ligand atoms have all energetically available orbi- tals filled, ..."

2. Proceedings of the Workshop on Long-lived Radionuclide Chemistry in Nuclear by NEA Nuclear Science Committee (1998)
"In the study on a bidentate ligand-lanthanides(III): Ln(III) extraction system, to clarify the principal parameters of controlling distribution behaviour of ..."

3. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (1903)
"For a ligand to :e its biological effect it must first bind specific ... Second, the com- >n of ligand with receptor initiates the mical events that lead to ..."

4. Molecular Neurobiology: Proceedings of the 2nd NIMH Conference by Steven Zalcman (1995)
"... Identification of a Novel Calcium Channel ligand From the Venom of Conus Magus JM ... We are in the process of further characterizing this ligand. ..."

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