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Anesthetics may restructure the hydrogen belts of membranes
Author(s) -
Brockerhoff H.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02534599
Subject(s) - hydrogen bond , membrane , chemistry , biophysics , allosteric regulation , hydrogen , lipid bilayer , molecule , biochemistry , biology , organic chemistry , enzyme
Anesthetic molecules can form hydrogen bonds or organize hydrogen‐bond networks. It is argued that they affect the neuronal cell membrane not by an amorphous fluidization of the hyprophobic core of the lipid bilayer but by a restructuring of its hydrogen belts, i.e., the regions occupied by the CO and OH groups of the membrane lipids. The structured disturbance of the hydrogen‐bond network is translated latitudinally to hydrogen‐bonding sites of the proteins of the membrane, causing allosteric changes of ion channels that result in neuronal blocking.