What Is Meant by Opsonize?

[ ŏp′sə-nĭ-zā′shən ] n. The process by which bacteria are altered by opsonins so as to become more readily and more efficiently engulfed by phagocytes.

What do you mean by opsonization?

Opsonization is an immune process which uses opsonins to tag foreign pathogens for elimination by phagocytes. Without an opsonin, such as an antibody, the negatively-charged cell walls of the pathogen and phagocyte repel each other.

What do opsonins do?

The function of opsonins is to react with bacteria and make them more susceptible to ingestion by phagocytes. Opsonization of bacteria may occur by three different mechanisms.