Monovalent

Monovalent refers to an element or a substance that is univalent, meaning it has a valence of one. In chemistry, this term is used to describe an atom, ion, or functional group that has the capacity to form one covalent bond. Monovalent elements include hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine. In immunology, a monovalent vaccine or antibody is designed to immunize against a single antigen or single microorganism.

Chemistry

In chemistry, a monovalent atom or functional group has one "free" electron that can be shared with another atom to form a covalent bond. This is often visualized using Lewis structures, where each dot represents a valence electron. Monovalent elements are often involved in the formation of single covalent bonds. For example, in a molecule of hydrochloric acid, the hydrogen atom is monovalent, forming a single bond with the chlorine atom.

Immunology

In immunology, a monovalent vaccine or antibody is designed to immunize against a single antigen or single microorganism. This is in contrast to polyvalent or multivalent vaccines, which are designed to immunize against two or more strains of the same microorganism, or against two or more different microorganisms. Monovalent vaccines are often used when a specific strain of a microorganism is identified as the cause of an outbreak.

See also

• Divalent
• Trivalent
• Polyvalent
• Valence (chemistry)
• Covalent bond
• Vaccine

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