Definition

1. Noun:
   • The quality or degree of being toxic to living cells: Cytotoxicity refers to the property of a substance, agent, or process that causes damage or death to cells. It is a measure of how poisonous something is to cellular structures and functions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Researchers measured the cytotoxicity of the new drug on cancer cell lines.
  • The high cytotoxicity of the chemical makes it unsuitable for medical use.
  • The assay is designed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of environmental pollutants.

Advanced Usage

• "Assessing cytotoxicity": Refers to the process of evaluating how toxic a substance is to cells.
  • Assessing cytotoxicity is a crucial step in drug development.
• "Cytotoxicity assay": A specific laboratory test used to measure cell death or damage.
  • The team performed a cytotoxicity assay to screen the new compounds.

Variants and Related Words

• Cytotoxic (adj): Having the property of being toxic to cells.
  • The treatment uses a cytotoxic agent to destroy the tumor.
• Cytotoxin (n): A substance that has a toxic effect on cells.
  • Some snake venoms contain powerful cytotoxins.

Synonyms

• Cellular toxicity: Toxicity specifically affecting cells.
• Cell-killing effect: The capacity to cause cell death.

Related Phrases

• Induce cytotoxicity: To cause a toxic effect on cells.
  • The compound was found to induce cytotoxicity at high concentrations.
• Level of cytotoxicity: The specific degree or amount of cellular toxicity.
  • The level of cytotoxicity varied significantly between the two samples.

Noun

1. the degree to which something is toxic to living cells