Alkaline phosphatase (
ALP,
ALKP,
ALPase,
Alk Phos) is a
hydrolase enzyme responsible for removing
phosphate groups from many types of molecules, including
nucleotides,
proteins, and
alkaloids. The process of removing the phosphate group is called
dephosphorylation. As the name suggests, alkaline phosphatases are most effective in an
alkaline environment. It is sometimes used synonymously as
basic phosphatase.