| nonionic surfactant | <chemistry> A surfactant without a charged moiety. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| surfactant | <physiology> A surface active agent, the best known example of which is the lung surfactant that renders the alveolar surfaces hydrophobic and prevents the lung filling with water by capillary action. The lung surfactant is produced just at parturition and it has often been speculated that deficiencies in surfactant metabolism might cause cot death. (18 Nov 1997) |
| surfactant subtype convertase | <enzyme> Converts surfactant heavy subtype to light subtype; inhibited by many serine proteinase inhibitors Registry number: EC 3.4.21.- Synonym: pst-convertase (26 Jun 1999) |
| zwitterionic surfactant | A dipolar surfactant. (05 Mar 2000) |