Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali (; from Arabic: "al-qaly" "ashes of the saltwort") is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal chemical element. An alkali also can be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The adjective alkaline is commonly, and alkalescent less often, used in English as a synonym for basic, especially for bases soluble in water. This broad use of the term is likely to have come about because alkalis were the first bases known to obey the Arrhenius definition of a base, and they are still among the most common bases.
Alkaline phosphatase
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP, ALKP, ALPase, Alk Phos) () or basic phosphatase is a homodimeric protein enzyme of 86 kilodaltons. Each monomer contains five cysteine residues, two zinc atoms, and one magnesium atom crucial to its catalytic function, and it is optimally active at alkaline pH environments. ALP has the physiological role of dephosphorylating compounds. The enzyme is found across a multitude of organisms, prokaryotes and eukaryotes alike, with the same general function but in different structural forms suitable to the environment they function in. Alkaline phosphatase is found in the periplasmic space of E. coli bacteria. This enzyme is heat stable and has its maximum activity at high pH. In humans, it is found in many forms depending on its origin within the body – it plays an integral role in metabolism within the liver and development within the skeleton. Due to its widespread prevalence in these areas, its concentration in the bloodstream is used by diagnosticians as a biomarker in helping determine diagnoses such as hepatitis or osteomalacia.