Labile vs Metastable - What's the difference?
labile | metastable |
Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
Apt or likely to change.
*, II.12:
(chemistry, of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).
(physics, chemistry) Of or pertaining to a physical or chemical state that is relatively long-lived, but may decay to a lower energy state when slightly perturbed or through a quantum transition.
As adjectives the difference between labile and metastable
is that labile is liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize while metastable is of or pertaining to a physical or chemical state that is relatively long-lived, but may decay to a lower energy state when slightly perturbed or through a quantum transition.labile
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Pythagoras [said] that each thing or matter was ever gliding and labile .
- Certain drugs can be conjugated to polymer molecules with a linkage that is labile at low pH to effect controlled release in a cellular endosome.
- Water ligands typically bind metals in a labile fashion and are rapidly interchanged in aqueous solution.