lyophilization

English

Alternative forms

lyophilisation

Etymology

1894, US. lyo- +‎ philos +‎ -ization (alternatively analyzed as lyophilize +‎ -ation), from Ancient Greek λύω (lúō, “to loosen, to dissolve”) + φίλος (phílos, “beloved”) + -ίζειν (-ízein) + Latin -ātiō, due to the dried product being able to rapidly reabsorb the solvent and restore the original substance, hence “lyophil” (solvent-loving). Popularized from 1960 by Louis R. Rey.^[1]^[2] Cognates in other European languages via same construction.

Noun

lyophilization (countable and uncountable, plural lyophilizations)

Synonym of freeze-drying.
- 1894, United States Department of Agriculture, Crops in Peace and War: The Yearbook of Agriculture (U.S. G.P.O.), p. 74, p. 907:
  After dialysis, the enzyme can be obtained as a dry powder by lyophilization.
  
  Lyophilization The process of vacuum-drying substances from the frozen state. The water is sublimated into a trap at low temperature or is absorbed by drying agents. Verb: lyophilize.

Related terms

Translations

freeze-drying

French: lyophilisation (fr)
Galician: liofilización (gl) f
German: Gefriertrocknung (de) f, Lyophilisation f
Greek: λυοφιλοποίηση (el) f (lyofilopoíisi)

References

^ Lyophilized Biologics and Vaccines: Modality-Based Approaches, 2015, →ISBN, p. 5
^ New ventures in freeze drying, L. Rey, Nature, volume 345, pages 185–186 (10 May 1990), “Called lyophilization because it produces dry products that ‘love’ solvents (lyos-philein),”

[1] Lyophilized Biologics and Vaccines: Modality-Based Approaches, 2015, →ISBN, p. 5

[2] New ventures in freeze drying, L. Rey, Nature, volume 345, pages 185–186 (10 May 1990), “Called lyophilization because it produces dry products that ‘love’ solvents (lyos-philein),”

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