Antigen - Antigenic Specificity

Antigenic Specificity

Antigen(ic) specificity is the ability of the host cells to recognize an antigen specifically as a unique molecular entity and distinguish it from another with exquisite precision. Antigen specificity is due primarily to the side-chain conformations of the antigen. It is a measurement, although the degree of specificity may not be easy to measure, and need not be linear or of the nature of a rate-limited step or equation.

Read more about this topic:  Antigen