Hydroxide
The solubility in water of the other hydroxides in this group increases with increasing atomic number. Magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH) is a strong base (up to the limit of its solubility, which is very low in pure water), as are the hydroxides of the heavier alkaline earths: calcium hydroxide, strontium hydroxide, and barium hydroxide. A solution or suspension of calcium hydroxide is known as limewater and can be used to test for the weak acid carbon dioxide. The reaction Ca(OH) + CO Ca + + OH illustrates the basicity of calcium hydroxide. Soda lime, which is a mixture of the strong bases NaOH and KOH with Ca(OH), is used as a CO absorbent.
Oxidase test
The oxidase test is a test used in microbiology to determine if a bacterium produces certain cytochrome c oxidases. It uses disks impregnated with a reagent such as "N,N,N′,N′"-tetramethyl-"p"-phenylenediamine (TMPD) or "N,N"-dimethyl-"p"-phenylenediamine (DMPD), which is also a redox indicator. The reagent is a dark-blue to maroon color when oxidized, and colorless when reduced. Oxidase-positive bacteria possess cytochrome oxidase or indophenol oxidase (an iron-containing
hemoprotein). These both catalyze the transport of electrons from donor compounds (NADH) to
electron acceptors (usually oxygen).
The test reagent, TMPD dihydrochloride acts as an artificial electron donor for the enzyme oxidase. The oxidized reagent forms the colored compound indophenol blue.
The cytochrome system is usually only present in aerobic organisms that are capable of using oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor. The end-product of this metabolism is either water or hydrogen peroxide (broken down by catalase).