Thermolytic reaction

A thermolytic reaction is an energetic phenomenon fatal to humanoids, resulting in the complete dessication of a victim's cells.

In 2375, the Son'a devised a method to collect metaphasic particles from the ring system around a planet in the area of space known as "the Briar Patch," by inducing a massive thermolytic reaction in the rings. As this would leave the planet uninhabitable for generations, a secret plan was struck with Starfleet admiral Dougherty to relocate the planet's inhabitants. After this plan was discovered by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, Ru'afo, leader of the Son'a, attempted to initiate the reaction with the planet still inhabited, an act which would have resulted in the deaths of all of the planet's inhabitants. 

The nucleogenic lifeforms encountered by the crews of the USS Voyager and the USS Equinox in 2376 induced thermolytic reactions in individuals via physical contact, causing instant death. The lifeforms used this technique in their attempts to kill the crew of the Equinox, in retaliation for the Equinox crew's systematic murder of the lifeforms for the purpose of converting their remains into a new source of fuel.