axenic

[ey-zen-ik, ey-zee-nik]

adjective

Biology.

1. (of an experimental animal) raised under sterile conditions; germfree.

2. (of a laboratory culture) uncontaminated.

axenic

/ eɪˈziːnɪk /

adjective

1. (of a biological culture or culture medium) free from other microorganisms; uncontaminated

Other Word Forms

• axenically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of axenic¹

1940–45; a- ⁶ + Greek xenikós foreign. See xeno-, -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of axenic¹

C20: see _a- ¹ , _xeno- , _-ic

Example Sentences

These genomes provide hundreds of potential drug targets that can be tested using high-throughput drug screenings that were made possible by recent advances in axenic and cell culturing techniques.

From Nature