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toxoid

 
(tŏk'soid') pronunciation
n.
A substance that has been treated to destroy its toxic properties but retains the capacity to stimulate production of antitoxins, used in immunization.


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Bacterial toxin that has been made inactive but can still combine with or stimulate formation of antibodies. In many bacterial diseases, the bacteria produce a toxin that causes the disease manifestations. Heating the toxin or treating it chemically converts it into a harmless toxoid that can be injected into a human or a nonhuman animal to confer immunity from subsequent infection. The vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria are toxoids.

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Toxin that has had its poisonous element removed, but which retains its ability to act as an antigen and stimulate the production of antibodies against the actual toxin.

toxoid, protein toxin treated by heat or chemicals so that its poisonous property is destroyed but its capacity to stimulate the formation of toxin antibodies, or antitoxins, remains. Because toxoids can be given in large quantities with no risk of tissue damage, they have superseded the highly poisonous toxins as immunizing agents against such diseases as diphtheria and tetanus.



An inactivated toxin capable of stimulating the body's production of antibodies by the immune system. Inoculations of toxoids can enable the body to build up antibodies and be immunized against certain diseases. Once the immune system comes in contact with these weakened offenders, it can then learn how to combat them in the future.


an exotoxin that has been modified (e.g. by formalin treatment) so that its toxicity has been lost while its antigenicity (both immunogenicity and reactivity) is retained.

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A toxin treated by heat or chemical agent to destroy its deleterious properties without destroying its antigenicity. Most of the clostridial diseases, e.g. tetanus, are controlled by vaccination with toxoids.


n.pl

Toxins that have been treated to destroy their toxic properties but retain their ability to induce antibody production, thus creating an active immunity.

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  • PHARMACOLOGY - toxoid: vaccine made from poisonous waste products of disease-causing microorganisms


A toxoid is a bacterial toxin (usually an exotoxin) whose toxicity has been weakened or suppressed either by chemical (formalin) or heat treatment, while other properties, typically immunogenicity, are maintained. In international medical literature the preparation also is known as Anatoxin or Anatoxine.[1] There are toxoids for prevention of diphtheria, tetanus and botulism.[2]

Toxoids are used as vaccines because they induce an immune response to the original toxin or increase the response to another antigen. For example, the tetanus toxoid[3] is derived from the tetanospasmin produced by Clostridium tetani. The latter causes tetanus. Botulin is produced by Clostridium botulinum and it causes the deadly disease botulism.

Production of toxoids

Multiple doses of tetanus toxoid are used by many plasma centers in the United States for the development of highly immune persons for the production of human anti-tetanus immune globulin (Tetanus Immune Globulin (TIG), HyperTet (c)[4]), which has replaced horse serum type tetanus antitoxin in most of the developed world.

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