Interfacial dehydration by anesthetics: an electrocapillary study of surface charge density of adsorbed monolayer

We have proposed that anesthetics destruct the hydration shell of macromolecules irrespective of lipid membranes or proteins. These macromolecular structures are supported by the hydrogen-bonded matrix of water molecules. A loss of this support destabilizes the membranes and proteins. The disordered structures are suboptimal for the assigned biological functions, and anesthesia may ensue. We postulated that the dehydration is prompted mainly by the decrease in the interactions of the surface charges with the water dipole. To prove or disprove the above hypothesis, this study measured the effect of volatile anesthetics (chloroform, halothane, and enflurane) on the surface charge density in adsorbed monolayers by an electrocapillary method. The oil phase was methylisobutylketone (MIBK) with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). The aqueous phase was 0.1 M NaCl. The anesthetics decreased the surface charge density, and the effect paralleled the clinical anesthetic potency. At concentrations that induce surgical stage anesthesia in 50% of the population, these anesthetics reduced the surface charge density by 5%.