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British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 78, Issue 3 290-295, Copyright © 1997 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS

Anaesthetic potency of inhalation agents is independent of membrane microviscosity

R. I. Norman, R. Hirst, B. L. Appadu, M. McKay, P. Bradley, R. Griffiths and D. J. Rowbotham
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE2 7LX; Department of Anaesthesia, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE2 7LX

The decrease in membrane microviscosity of erythrocyte ghosts in the presence of clinically relevant concentrations of seven inhalation anaesthetic agents was studied using fluorescence polarization anisotropy of the membrane incorporated fluorescent probes 1,6-diphenyl- 1,3,5-hexatriene and 1-[4-trimethylammoniumphenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5- hexatriene. All anaesthetic agents produced a dose-dependent decrease in anisotropy of both probes, indicating decreased membrane microviscosity. The reduction in anisotropy measured at the minimum alveolar concentration (ED50) for anaesthesia was related inversely to the anaesthetic potency of the agent and was directly proportional to the hypothetical concentration of agent in the membrane calculated from lipid-water partition coefficients. These findings do not support the hypothesis that volatile anaesthetic agents act by increasing membrane microviscosity of the bulk lipid bilayer to produce anaesthesia.
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