coacervate

[ noun koh-as-er-vit, -veyt, koh-uh-sur-vit; verb koh-as-er-veyt, koh-uh-sur-veyt ]

noun

1. Physical Chemistry. a reversible aggregation of liquid particles in an emulsion.

verb (used with or without object)

, co·ac·er·vat·ed, co·ac·er·vat·ing.

1. to make or become a coacervate.

coacervate

/ -ˌveɪt; kəʊˈæsəvɪt /

noun

1. either of two liquid phases that may separate from a hydrophilic sol, each containing a different concentration of a dispersed solid

Derived Forms

• coˌacerˈvation, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of coacervate¹

1620–30; < Latin coacervātus (past participle of coacervāre to heap up), equivalent to co- co- + acerv ( us ) heap, multitude + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of coacervate¹

C17: from Latin coacervāre to heap up, from acervus a heap

Example Sentences

Dr. Moran Frenkel-Pinter, a research scientist at the NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, told Salon that "this outstanding research by Tawfik, Metanis, and colleagues offers a look back in time at plausible primordial forms of early proteins. These ancestral peptides carrying ornithine, a relatively simple amino acid that is believed to have been abundant on the prebiotic Earth but is not found in contemporary proteins, were shown to interact with nucleic acids and form coacervate structures."

From Salon

Dr. Stewart’s adhesive forms what chemists call a complex coacervate, a kind of molecular circling of the wagons against water.

From New York Times