pH-labile
|pee-aitch-lay-bile|
/ˌpiːˈeɪtʃ ˈleɪbaɪl/
easily changed by pH
Etymology
'pH-labile' originates from a modern scientific compound: 'pH' (the abbreviation introduced by Danish chemist Søren P. L. Sørensen in 1909; 'p' indicating power/scale and 'H' for hydrogen) combined with 'labile' which originates from Latin 'labilis' (via French 'labile'), where the root 'labi' meant 'to slip or fall'.
'labile' changed from Latin 'labilis' (meaning 'liable to slip or fall') into French 'labile' and was adopted into English as 'labile'; 'pH' was coined in early 20th-century chemical literature by Søren Sørensen, and the compound form 'pH-labile' arose in scientific/technical usage in the 20th century.
Initially, 'labile' meant 'liable to slip or fall' (physical sense); over time it evolved to mean 'unstable' or 'easily changed' in chemical and biological contexts. Combined with 'pH', the modern meaning is specifically 'unstable or easily altered by changes in pH'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
noun form (transformation of 'pH-labile'): the property of being pH-labile (i.e., susceptibility to change or degradation with pH variation).
The pH-lability of the compound complicates its formulation for pharmaceutical use.
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Adjective 1
easily altered, decomposed, or inactivated by changes in pH (i.e., sensitive to acidic or basic conditions). Commonly used of chemical bonds, molecules, or biological macromolecules.
Many enzymes are pH-labile and lose activity outside a narrow pH range.
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Last updated: 2025/11/24 22:54