HALF LIFE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does half life mean? 

• HALF LIFE (noun)
  The noun HALF LIFE has 1 sense:

1. the time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate)

  Familiarity information: HALF LIFE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HALF LIFE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

half-life; half life

Hypernyms ("half life" is a kind of...):

period; period of time; time period (an amount of time)

 Context examples 

This antibody has a long half life and allows for once a month dosing intervals.

(Gevokizumab, NCI Thesaurus)

He is always with them; half lives in the family, I believe.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Cu62-ETS has a short half life of 9.74 minutes.

(Copper Cu 62 Ethylglyoxal Bis(thiosemicarbazone), NCI Thesaurus)

Pegylation decreases enzyme antigenicity and increases its half life.

(Calaspargase Pegol, NCI Thesaurus)

Betrixaban is primarily excreted unchanged in the bile and has a half life of about 19 hours.

(Betrixaban, NCI Thesaurus)

Compared to an unconjugated fumagillin analog, XMT-1107 exhibits improved solubility and an extended half life due to its PHF backbone.

(Fumagillin-Derived Polymer Conjugate XMT-1107, NCI Thesaurus)

Compared to other positron-emitting radioisotopes, Cu 64 has a longer half life.

(Copper Cu 64 TP3805, NCI Thesaurus)

A radioactive isotope of iodine with an atomic mass of 131, a half life of eight days, and potential antineoplastic activity.

(Iodine I-131, NCI Thesaurus)

Mpl ligand, also known as thrombopoietin, stimulates the production of megakaryocyte precursor cells, megakaryocytes, and mature platelets. rHuMGDF is complexed with polyethylene glycol to prolong its half life in vivo and is used for the treatment and prevention of thrombocytopenia.

(PEG Recombinant Human Megakaryocyte Growth and Development Factor, NCI Thesaurus)

Compared to camptothecin alone, the cyclodextrin-based polymer formulation has a prolonged half life and greatly improves the biodistribution of camptothecin resulting in an accumulation of camptothecin at the tumor site, which enhances tumor exposure while greatly reducing toxic side effects.

(Cyclodextrin-Based Polymer-Camptothecin CRLX101, NCI Thesaurus)