lyse
lyse — verb
- lysepresent simple I / you / we / they
- lyses3rd person singular
- lysing-ing form
- lysedpast simple
1. When a cell or similar tiny living structure splits open and its inner contents
When a cell or similar tiny living structure splits open and its inner contents spill out, usually because its outer wall or covering has broken down.
The red blood cells lysed after sitting in the weak salt solution for ten minutes.
Placed in pure water, the tiny organism swelled quickly and then lysed.
intransitive: the subject itself undergoes the process
Bacterial cells lyse when a virus injects its DNA through their outer wall.
Without a strong cell wall, the bacterium will lyse in even a mild salt mixture.
It took only thirty seconds for the damaged blood cells to lyse completely.
- rupture
more general; used for any kind of bursting, not only biological
- burst
everyday word; less precise for describing laboratory processes
- disintegrate
suggests breaking into many small pieces, not just splitting open
用法筆記
Used mainly in biology and laboratory medicine. The subject is always the cell, bacterium, or similar structure that breaks apart — you cannot use this sense with a person or tool as the subject.
常見錯誤
2. To make a cell or similar tiny organism split open and release what is inside it
To make a cell or similar tiny organism split open and release what is inside it, typically by using a chemical substance, heat, or physical pressure.
The technician used a mild soap to lyse the cell walls before the next step.
Certain plant chemicals can lyse bacterial walls, causing the harmful cells to die.
transitive: chemical agent + lyse + target cells
To extract the DNA, you must first lyse the tissue in a buffer liquid.
The enzyme lysed the yeast cells in under five minutes at room temperature.
Heat and a mild acid were used together to lyse the thick-walled plant cells.
- rupture
more general and less technical; used outside biology for pipes, tanks, and body organs
- break open
everyday phrase; lacks the scientific precision of 'lyse'
- disrupt
broader term meaning to disturb or interrupt a structure or process, not necessarily to split it open
文法句型
lyse + direct object
用法筆記
Common in laboratory protocols, pharmacology, and microbiology. The subject is the agent, method, or tool that causes cells to break apart — not the cells themselves.