Utilizing Non-Equilibrium Methods to Probe the Effects of General Anesthetics on Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Dynamics

Although anesthetics have been in use for over 150 years, the molecular mechanism behind their action is still poorly understood. Ligand-gated ion channels have been identified as the targets of these drugs, but it is unknown how anesthetics exert their effects. Previous simulations from our group have uncovered a membrane-dependent entrance mechanism, whereby the anesthetic partitions to the membrane prior to binding a transmembrane site...