Opsonisation is the process of coating foreign particles or cells, such as bacteria or viruses, with proteins called opsonins.Opsonins bind to pathogens, and tag them so they are more easily recognised by phagocytes.Phagocytes have receptors on the cell membrane that bind to common opsonins such as antibodies and the phagocytes then engulf the pathogen.
There are a number of different opsonins - antibodies such as IgG and IgM have the strongest effect.
There are a number of different opsonins - antibodies such as IgG and IgM have the strongest effect.