adjuvant

adjuvant /ad·ju·vant/ (aj″dbobr-vant) (ă-joo´vant)

1. assisting or aiding.

2. a substance that aids another, such as an auxiliary remedy.

3. a nonspecific stimulator of the immune response.

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aluminum adjuvant  an aluminum-containing compound, such as aluminum hydroxide or alum, that by combining with soluble antigen forms a precipitate; slow release of the antigen from the precipitate on injection causes prolonged, strong antibody response.

Freund's adjuvant  a water-in-oil emulsion incorporating antigen, in the aqueous phase, into lightweight paraffin oil with the aid of an emulsifying agent. On injection, this mixture (Freund's incomplete a.) induces strong persistent antibody formation. The addition of killed, dried mycobacteria, e.g., Mycobacterium butyricum, to the oil phase (Freund's complete a.) elicits cell-mediated immunity (delayed hypersensitivity), as well as humoral antibody formation.

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ad·ju·vant (j-vnt)

n.

1. A pharmacological agent added to a drug, predictably affecting the action of the drug's active ingredient.

2. An immunological vehicle for enhancing antigenicity, such as a water-in-oil emulsion in which antigen solution is emulsified in mineral oil. Also called immunoadjuvant.

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adjuvant

[ad′jəvənt]

Etymology: L, ad + juvare, to help

1 a substance, especially a drug, added to a prescription to assist in the action of the main ingredient.

2 (in immunology) a substance added to an antigen that enhances or modifies the antibody response to the antigen.

3 an additional treatment or therapy.

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adjuvant,

n a substance that improves the effectiveness of a medicine or enhances the ability to produce an immune response.

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adjuvant (aj´vnt),

n an auxiliary active ingredient that supports the action of the basic drug. See also basis.

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adjuvant

1. assisting or aiding.

2. a substance that aids another, such as an auxiliary remedy. Commonly used in reference to substances, commonly mineral oil or alum, added to vaccines to enhance antigenicity. See also freund's complete adjuvant.

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adjuvant

Immunology Any nonspecific immune enhancer–eg Freund's adjuvant, BCG vaccine, consisting of a particulate-rich oily substances, which promotes protein aggregation; adjuvant mixed with an antigen acts as a tissue depot, slowly releasing antigen and activating the immune system Oncology The addition of chemotherapy to a traditional therapeutic modality to ↓ M&M Pharmacology A substance which, when added to a medication, enhances its pharmacologic effect. See Neoadjutant.