Labile quaternary ammonium salts of the following formula (I) and (II) are provided: ##STR1## wherein N represents a tertiary aliphatic amine; wherein N represents an unsaturated amine; wherein R represents a member selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 open chain or cyclo alkyl group, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkoxyalkyl group, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 acyloxyalkyl group, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 haloalkyl group, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 carboxyalkyl group, a C.sub.2 -C.sub.8 alkenylphenyl group, an aryl group, and a substituted aryl group, whose substituents are selected from the group consisting of a halogen atom, an O-lower alkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4) group, an O-acyl group, a nitro group, a carboxyl group, and a carboethoxy group; wherein R.sub.1 which may be the same or different, represents any member defined by R above with the proviso that R.sub.1 cannot be a hydrogen atom; wherein X is --O-- or --S--; and wherein Y represents a member selected from the group consisting of a halogen atom or any other organic or inorganic monovalent equivalent anion; with the further proviso that N and N, respectively cannot represent trimethylamine and pyridine or quinoline when R represents a hydrogen atom and R.sub.1 represents a methyl group or a phenyl group. The compounds described above are characterized by their extreme solubility and resistance to oxidation, dealkylation, and protonation prior to chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis. Upon chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis, these compounds will "cleave," thus releasing their active constituent or constituents, according to the following general scheme(s): ##STR2## In other words, the title compounds hydrolyze (chemically or enzymatically) releasing a tertiary amine or unsaturated amine derivative, an aldehyde, a carboxylic acid and a hydrogen halide (HX) per the above reaction scheme.