Membrane-Associated Processes

A major group of synthetic, nonbiological molecules that share a long and important relationship with membranes are known as anesthetics [1,2]. Anesthetics comprise a very large group of small organic compounds that cause anesthesia – defined as a loss of sensation [3,4]. There are two basic types of anesthetics: general and local. General anesthetics cause a reversible loss of consciousness, while local anesthetics cause a reversible loss of sensation over a limited region of the body but do not lead to unconsciousness. Of course, both types of anesthetics play preeminent roles in medicine and have for more than 160 years.