organification

Organification is a term used across disciplines to describe the process by which a substance is converted into or incorporated as part of organic matter. In organometallic and synthetic chemistry, organification often refers to the formation of organic–metal bonds, where organic groups are attached to a metal center to form organometallic species or polymers. The exact steps and mechanisms vary by system, but the overarching idea is the transformation of inorganic or elemental substrates into species that contain carbon–heteroatom bonds.

In thyroid physiology, organification has a specialized meaning related to iodine metabolism. After iodide is transported into thyroid follicular cells, it is oxidized to iodine and then organified by covalently attaching to tyrosine residues on thyroglobulin. This produces mono- and diiodotyrosine residues, which subsequently couple to form the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). This organification step requires thyroid peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide and is tightly regulated by thyroid-stimulating hormone. Defects in organification, or iodine deficiency, can lead to reduced thyroid hormone production and goiter.

Overall, organification describes a field-dependent process where a substance becomes incorporated into organic frameworks, either in a laboratory context to build organic or organometallic compounds or in a biological setting as part of hormone synthesis. The specific meaning depends on the scientific context and disciplinary conventions.