ABSTRACT
Reconciled?......................................................................................293 12.4
In Vitro
Studies ............................................................................................294 12.4.1 Ion Channels in
L. stagnalis
............................................................294 12.4.2 GABA
Receptors ...........................................................................295 12.4.3 Voltage Operated Calcium Channels...............................................298 12.4.4 Other Systems..................................................................................299
12.5 Why are the Potency Differences Between (+) and (–) Isoflurane So Modest? ..................................................................................................299
12.6 Safer Anesthetics Through Stereochemistry? .............................................300 References..............................................................................................................302
Despite a history of clinical use spanning two centuries, the molecular mechanisms by which inhalation agents produce anesthesia remain a subject of controversy. Several clinically useful inhalation agents possess centers of asymmetry, but the optically resolved isomers of halothane and isoflurane have only recently become available.
