MORDANT

Mordant

A mordant is a substance used to set dyes on fabrics or tissue sections by forming a coordination complex with the dye which then attaches to the fabric or tissue. It may be used for dyeing fabrics, or for intensifying stains in cell or tissue preparations. The term mordant comes from the present participle of French mordre, "to bite". In the past, it was thought that a mordant helped the dye bite onto the fiber so that it would hold fast during washing. A mordant is often a polyvalent metal ion. The resulting coordination complex of dye and ion is colloidal and can be either acidic or alkaline.

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mordant

Noun

  1. Any substance used to facilitate the fixing of a dye to a fibre; usually a metallic compound which reacts with the dye using chelation.
  2. Any corrosive substance used in etching.

Verb

  1. To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant.
    Mordant these goods for dyeing.

Adjective

  1. Having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting; caustic; sarcastic; keen; severe.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: mordant
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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