alginate

alginate /al·gi·nate/ (al´jĭ-nāt) a salt of alginic acid; water-soluble alginates are useful as materials for dental impressions.

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alginate

[al′ji·nāt]

a salt of alginic acid, extracted from marine kelp. The calcium, sodium, and ammonium alginates have been used in foam, cloth, and gauze for absorbent surgical dressings. Soluble alginates, such as those of sodium, potassium, or magnesium, form a viscous sol that can be changed into a gel by a chemical reaction with compounds such as calcium sulfate; this makes them useful as materials for taking dental impressions.

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alginate [al´jĭ-nāt]

a salt of alginic acid, a colloidal substance from brown seaweed; used, in the form of calcium, sodium, or ammonium alginate, for dental impression materials.

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alginate (al´jināt),

n a salt of alginic acid (e.g., sodium alginate), which, when mixed with water in accurate proportions, forms an irreversible hydrocolloid gel used for making impressions or molds of the denti-tion. See also hydrocolloid, irreversible.

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alginate

a salt of alginic acid, a colloidal substance from brown seaweed; used, in the form of calcium, sodium or ammonium alginate, as foam, clot or gauze for absorbable surgical dressings. Also used as an irreversible hydrocolloid impression material in dentistry for making impressions of jaws in the preparation of orthodontic appliances.