Effect of Local and General Anesthetics on Interfacial Water
Paper published Apr 7, 2016
We tested the hypothesis that anesthetics diminish the amount of EZ water, and that this change may correlate with functional changes in anesthesia. By using the local anesthetics Lidocaine and Bupivacaine as well as a general inhalational anesthetic, Isoflurane, we tracked the EZ size as these anesthetics were introduced.
All three anesthetics diminished EZ size in a concentration-dependent manner at concentrations of 0.18 mM and greater for Bupivacaine, 0.85 mM and greater for Lidocaine, and 0.2% for Isoflurane. At extremely low (micromolar) concentrations, however, all three anesthetics increased EZ size.
The sharp increase of EZ size associated with micromolar anesthetic concentrations follows a similar pattern to induction of general anesthesia, from the excitation stage (Stage II) to the depression and overdose stages of surgical anesthesia (Stages III and IV). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that anesthetics may act on water, a fundamental organizational component common to all cells.
Tracking how Lidocaine, Bupivacaine, and Isoflurane alter Exclusion Zone water next to Nafion surfaces offers a fascinating angle on how anesthesia works at the cellular level. What really stood out to me is the biphasic response, where micromolar doses actually expand the EZ layer before higher concentrations shrink it down to a third. Visualizing these microscopic shifts is tricky, much like playing a Size Comparison Game where relative scale completely defies intuition.
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