protonation

This term is used exclusively within the technical registers of chemistry and biochemistry. It describes a specific acid-base reaction where a molecule acts as a Brønsted-Lowry base by accepting a proton. The process is often discussed in the context of pH changes, as the degree of protonation determines the electrical charge and subsequent biological activity or solubility of a substance.

In a laboratory or academic setting, the term is frequently paired with its opposite, deprotonation. Because it describes a chemical process or state, it is treated as an uncountable noun when referring to the general phenomenon, though it can be countable when referring to specific instances or types of protonation events in a molecular sequence.