THERMOLÁBIL: MEANING, ETYMOLOGY, SYNONYMS, ANTONYMS - DUDAS - 2025

The word thermolabile is an adjective that is used to designate a substance or material that is destroyed or whose properties change at a certain temperature. The word is part of medical and biochemical jargon.

Each chemical substance, or each type of matter, has specific conditions within which it remains stable and with its properties intact. Within these conditions is the temperature.

Egg white is very heat labile. Source: pixabay.com.

We say of something that is thermolabile to x amount of degrees centigrade or Fahrenheit when once that set temperature is reached or exceeded, the substance or matter in question undergoes significant changes in its composition, or is completely destroyed.

Meaning in the scientific world

If we are not part of the scientific community or do not work in the pharmaceutical industry, it is likely that we use this term little or nothing in our day to day life. However, if we look at the leaflets that bring the drugs we purchase, they indicate the conditions in which it is convenient to keep them.

Some of them specify that we must store the drug protected from light and in a place whose temperature is below 30 degrees Celsius. This tells us that the components of the drug make it heat labile beyond that temperature.

The thermolability of vaccines

Others are more heat labile, that is, they are more sensitive to heat and should be kept in the refrigerator or in an environment where the temperature does not exceed 8 degrees Celsius. Among the most common of these thermolabile drugs are vaccines, chemotherapy treatments, insulin, some antibiotics, some eye drops, and so on.

What happens with these drugs if they are stored at a higher temperature than indicated, normally, is that they lose their effectiveness. This is because its active agents are destroyed or changed. Their properties can also be altered if the temperature drops beyond the freezing point.

The thermolability of vaccines

Other organic thermolabile substances are proteins. These are part of the human body and many other living things. When they are subjected to heat, proteins are denatured, that is, they lose their shape and composition.

A clear example of this is egg white. The main protein of which it is composed is albumin or ovalbumin. We can notice with the naked eye its process of change or denaturation by heat when we put the egg to cook and it changes its color and structure.

Enzymes are a type of protein that participate in chemical reactions in the body, accelerating the speed of these reactions. There are specific enzymes for each chemical process. They are a clear example of thermolabile substances, since their activity ceases with increases in temperature.

Etymology

Thermolabil is a compound word that comes from Latin and ancient Greek. It is made up of the Greek word thermē, whose most accurate translation is "heat", and the Latin labilis, which means "changing". Therefore, its literal meaning would be: changing with heat or said to be something that changes with heat.

Synonyms

Being such a specific term, it does not have exact synonyms in Spanish. Some related words are:

- Thermosensitive: a substance or material that is sensitive (varies) to temperature, but is not necessarily destroyed or totally loses its properties.

- Thermolysis: designates the chemical reaction by which a compound decomposes into two or more elements by the action of heat.

Antonyms

The antonym of thermolabile is thermostable, which does not melt, is not destroyed, nor are its properties permanently altered by the action of heat.

Usage examples

- One of the main characteristics of enzymes is that they are heat labile

- The German researcher Eduard Buchner discovered a thermolabile substance in the serum which he called "alexin"

- The virus that causes distemper in dogs has recently been discovered to be heat labile at 39.5 degrees

- The chickenpox vaccine is heat labile at room temperature, it must be refrigerated

- Certain antibiotics are heat labile at 8 degrees.

References

1. Thermolabile. (2019). Spain: Dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language. Tricentennial Edition. Recovered from: rae.es.
2. Thermolábil (2019). Spain: Educalingo. Recovered from: com.
3. Thermolabile. (2019). A / N: Name me. Recovered from: me.
4. What does thermolabile mean? (2019). Argentina: Definiciones-de.com. Recovered from: definitions-de.com.
5. Thermolabile. (2019). N / A: Medicopedia. The interactive medical dictionary of portalesmédicos.com Recovered from: com.