avidin

1 8.9

A protein in egg white that sticks very tightly to a vitamin called biotin and helps in lab tests

noun
/ˈævɪdɪn/

Specialized

: avidina

Next, 100 µL of HRP-avidin (1x) was added to each well and incubated for 1 h at 37 degrees C.

Examples

On immunohistochemistry by the biotin-avidin immunoenzyme technique, these cells stained positive only for the kappa light chain (figure 3).

Academic text (2005)
In the lab, we apply avidin to capture biotinylated proteins in our assays.
We used FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate)-avidin D to label DNA strand breaks.

Academic text (2014)
Researchers often use avidin to detect biomolecules in various experimental methods.
The avidin in egg whites binds tightly to biotin, inhibiting its absorption in the body.

Surface Forms

avidin singular

avidins plural

Morphology

avidin = avid (semi-transparent) = avid + in

Formed by the adjective 'avid' + protein suffix '-in'; the meaning ('protein that avidly binds biotin') is clear in technical contexts but is specialized vocabulary for general learners.

Etymology

Avidin comes from the Latin root avidus, which means 'eager' and is the same idea as the English word avid. Scientists named this egg-white protein avidin because it 'eagerly' grabs the vitamin biotin, so it binds very strongly to it.