# Lability

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Tendency to undergo change: instability

For the psychological term, see [Labile affect](/source/Labile_affect).

For the linguistic term, see [Labile verb](/source/Labile_verb).

Not to be confused with [Liability](/source/Liability).

**Lability** refers to the degree that something is likely to undergo change. It is the opposite ([antonym](/source/Opposite_(semantics))) of stability.

## Biochemistry

In reference to [biochemistry](/source/Biochemistry), this is an important concept as far as [kinetics](/source/Kinetics_(chemistry)) is concerned in [metalloproteins](/source/Metalloprotein). This can allow for the rapid synthesis and degradation of substrates in biological systems.

## Biology

### Cells

Labile [cells](/source/Cell_(biology)) refer to cells that constantly [divide](/source/Cell_division) by entering and remaining in the [cell cycle](/source/Cell_cycle).[1] These are contrasted with "stable cells" and "permanent cells".

An important example of this is in the [epithelium](/source/Epithelium) of the [cornea](/source/Cornea), where cells divide at the basal level and move upwards, and the topmost cells [die and fall off](/source/Apoptosis).

### Proteins

In medicine, the term "labile" means susceptible to alteration or destruction. For example, a heat-labile [protein](/source/Protein) is one that can be changed or destroyed at high temperatures.

The opposite of labile in this context is "stable".[2]

### Soils

Compounds or materials that are easily transformed (often by [biological activity](/source/Biological_activity)) are termed labile. For example, labile [phosphate](/source/Phosphate) is that fraction of soil phosphate that is readily transformed into soluble or plant-available phosphate.[3] Labile organic matter is the [soil organic matter](/source/Soil_organic_matter) that is easily decomposed by [microorganisms](/source/Microorganism).[4]

## Chemistry

The term is used to describe a transient [chemical species](/source/Chemical_species). As a general example, if a molecule exists in a particular conformation for a short lifetime, before adopting a lower energy conformation (structural arrangement), the former molecular structure is said to have "high lability" (such as C25, a 25-carbon [fullerene](/source/Fullerene) spheroid). The term is sometimes also used in reference to reactivity – for example, a complex that quickly reaches [equilibrium](/source/Chemical_equilibrium) in [solution](/source/Solution_(chemistry)) is said to be labile (with respect to that solution). Another common example is the [*cis* effect](/source/Cis_effect) in organometallic chemistry, which is the labilization of [CO ligands](/source/Carbonyl_ligand) in the *cis* position of octahedral transition metal complexes.

## See also

Look up ***[lability](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/lability)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

- [Chemical stability](/source/Chemical_stability)

- [Emotional lability](/source/Emotional_lability)

- [Equilibrium chemistry](/source/Equilibrium_chemistry)

- [Dynamic equilibrium](/source/Dynamic_equilibrium)

- [Instability](/source/Instability)

- [Metastability](/source/Metastability)

- [Reaction intermediate](/source/Reaction_intermediate)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-urlRegeneration_and_Repair_1-0)** ["Regeneration and Repair"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081128182200/http://www.usc.edu/hsc/dental/PTHL312abc/312a/04/Reader/reader_set.html). *usc.edu*. Archived from [the original](http://www.usc.edu/hsc/dental/PTHL312abc/312a/04/Reader/reader_set.html) on 2008-11-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pmid9665996_2-0)** Jackson, C. J.; Fox, A. J.; Jones, D. M.; Wareing, D. R.; Hutchinson, D. N (August 1998). ["Associations between heat-stable (O) and heat-labile (HL) serogroup antigens of *Campylobacter jejuni*: evidence for interstrain relationships within three O/HL serovars"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC105019). *Journal of Clinical Microbiology*. **36** (8): 2223–2228. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1128/JCM.36.8.2223-2228.1998](https://doi.org/10.1128%2FJCM.36.8.2223-2228.1998). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [105019](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC105019). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [9665996](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9665996).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Mattingly, G. E. G. (1975). "Labile phosphate in soils". *Soil Science*. **119** (5): 369. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1975SoilS.119..369M](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975SoilS.119..369M). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1097/00010694-197505000-00007](https://doi.org/10.1097%2F00010694-197505000-00007). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [93102505](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:93102505).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance?"](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130211102312.htm). *ScienceDaily.com*. Retrieved 29 August 2014.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lability) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lability?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.