Depression of phase-transition temperature in a model cell membrane by local anesthetics

Disordering, fluidizing and dilating effects of anesthetics upon cell membranes are well recognized. The fluidization can be precisely measured with phospholipid membranes. When phospholipids are dispersed in water, they form globules of bilayer structure. These model membranes undergo transition between crystalline (ordered and less fluid) and liquid crystalline (less ordered and fluid) phases according to the temperature, the degree of packing of each molecule, and the chemical environment. The phase transition occurs in a cooperative fashion and the turbidity of the dispersion changes abruptly, clear in liquid crystalline phase and turbid in crystalline phase. The present study was undertaken to quantitate the fluidizing effects of local anesthetics on dipalmitoyl lecithin (DPL) bilayer dispersion by measuring the turbidity change. Tetracaine, bupivacaine, lidocaine, and procaine were studied. They all depressed the phase-transition temperature. The binding of the drugs to the model membrane followed unsaturable kinetics, and the pH titration curve showed that only uncharged molecules were active. The freezing point depression was analyzed according to the Van't Hoff model. From this model, the partition coefficients of the uncharged molecules between DPL and water were estimated: lidocaine 76, procaine 159, bupivacaine 812, and tetracaine 1,405. The concentration of local anesthetics in the DPL phase needed to decrease the phase-transition temperature 1 degree C showed a constant value of 0.132 M. The concentration of local anesthetics in the DPL phase is a function of pH, partition coefficient, and volume ratio between the DPL and aqueous phases. The normalized values of the fluidizing action of these drugs at physiologic conditions correlated well with their nerve-blocking potencies. The present results indicate that the uncharged molecules fluidize the lecithin membrane by unsaturable nonspecific binding. The possible effect of the charged molecules upon the fluidity of natural membranes remains to be established.