Specificitás

Specificitás, in Hungarian usage often translated as specificity, refers to the property of a system, process, or interaction to respond to or involve a limited set of targets or stimuli. In scientific discourse it denotes selective recognition or action, as opposed to a general or non-selective response.

In biochemistry and molecular biology, specificitás describes how enzymes recognize particular substrates, how receptors bind specific ligands, and how antibodies recognize particular epitopes. Specificitás arises from structural complementarity, charge distribution, and molecular dynamics; high specificity reduces cross-reaction with unrelated molecules but may limit flexibility.

In immunology, specificitás refers to the ability of B and T lymphocytes to respond to distinct antigens. Clonal selection generates a repertoire where each clone has a unique specificity. Cross-reactivity occurs when a receptor recognizes similar epitopes; vaccine design and autoimmune considerations hinge on balancing specificity and cross-reactivity.

In pharmacology and diagnostics, specificitás is used to describe the ability of a drug or a test to target the intended molecule or condition while avoiding off-target effects. Diagnostic specificity is the proportion of true negatives among those who do not have the condition; high specificity reduces false positives.

The concept is applied across disciplines to denote selective action, including in ecology, linguistics, and information science, where specificity describes targeted rather than generalized responses.