Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A molecule, especially an amino acid, containing a positively charged ion at one end and a negatively charged ion at the other.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun chemistry A
molecule , such as anamino acid , that carries both apositive and anegative charge .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[German : Zwitter, hybrid (from Middle High German zwitarn, from Old High German, from zwi-, twice; see dwo- in Indo-European roots) + Ion, ion (from Greek; see ion).]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From German Zwitter (hermaphrodite) + ion.
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Examples
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'Others have searched for such zwitterion [electrically neutral compound that carries positive and negative charges on different atoms] formation in molecular clusters unsuccessfully, but theoreticians had predicted the possibility that only four water molecules might suffice for the reaction to proceed spontaneously,' adds Zwier.
Latest Articles 2009
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Control of pH in human long-term bone marrow cultures with low-glucose medium containing zwitterion buffer lengthens the period of haemopoietic activity.
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That seems big for such simple cases as binding a dropdownlist so I assume that EF is doing extra unnecessary work somewhere) zwitterion
ASP.NET Forums 2008
hernesheir commented on the word zwitterion
This word has nothing to do with persons who use the social medium Twitter. Just sayin'.
February 8, 2010