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Glite Dictionary
tetrazolium

tetrazolium

1 9.9
A chemical used in lab tests to show if cells are alive
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛtrəˈzoʊliəm/
  • Specialized
: tetrazolio
  • The experiment involved adding tetrazolium to the samples to visualize cell activity under the microscope.

Examples

  • This study demonstrated how a tetrazolium dye can indicate cell growth in culture experiments.

  • In the laboratory, researchers used a tetrazolium compound to assess the metabolic activity of the cells.

  • This assay utilizes a tetrazolium salt for the detection of superoxide radicals generated by xanthine oxidase and hypoxanthine.

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Surface Forms

tetrazolium singular
tetrazoliums plural

Morphology

tetrazolium = tetrazole (opaque) = tetrazole + ium

Formed by adding the chemical suffix '-ium' to 'tetrazole' following specialized chemical naming conventions; this is unlikely to be inferable by an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Tetrazolium begins with tetra- meaning 'four' and includes -azolium, a part that points to a 'nitrogen' ring, so it is easy to remember this chemical has four nitrogen atoms in a ring and often 'changes color' to show living cell activity.