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Local anaesthetic benzyl alcohol increases membrane thickness

Nature volume 269, pages 819–820 (1977)Cite this article

Abstract

WE present here evidence that the local anaesthetic, benzyl alcohol, causes a large expansion in the thickness (an increase of about 25% at 7.5 mM concentration) of the hydrocarbon region of bimolecular lipid membranes. Such a change in the bilayer fabric of nerve membranes would provide a new insight into the molecular basis of anaesthesia. While the primary process involved in the mode of action of the anaesthetic is apparently different from the possible effect on the boundary lipids around the sodium channel, recently suggested by Lee1, the main features remain the same; the sodium channel becomes inoperative (closes?) due to a stress resulting from changes in the membrane's bilayer structure in the presence of the anaesthetic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biophysics Laboratory, School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, Australia, 2033

    R. G. ASHCROFT, H. G. L. COSTER & J. R. SMITH

Authors
  1. R. G. ASHCROFT
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  2. H. G. L. COSTER
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  3. J. R. SMITH
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ASHCROFT, R., COSTER, H. & SMITH, J. Local anaesthetic benzyl alcohol increases membrane thickness. Nature 269, 819–820 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269819a0

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