Derivatize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To chemically modify a substance to form a derivative for easier analysis or improved properties; to convert an original compound into a related form; to produce a derivative by altering its chemical structure
2. To transform a compound by introducing a functional group to yield a derivative suitable for study or application; to change a molecule into a structurally related compound; to create a derivative by chemical modification
3. To alter a chemical substance into a derivative to facilitate detection or performance; to derive a new form by converting the original compound; to synthesize a related compound through chemical change

Etymology: "Derivatize" is a chemistry term built from "derivative" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize." The noun "derivative" came into English in the 1500s, from Latin "derivativus," meaning "drawn off" or "turned from a source," a sense that originally applied to streams and rivers and only later to ideas and substances. In chemistry, a derivative is a compound made from a parent compound by swapping one group of atoms for another, so the parent's basic skeleton remains recognizable. The verb "derivatize" therefore means to convert a compound into such a derivative. This is especially useful in analytical chemistry, where a sample may be hard to detect or separate in its original form. Chemists attach a reactive group to it so that it becomes more volatile, more stable, or easier to see with a detector. The word itself is a modern technical coinage, first attested in the twentieth century as laboratory methods expanded, and it has no older history beyond the noun it grows from.

Synonyms: modify, transform, functionalize, convert