PROMISCUOUS LIGANDS AND ATTRACTIVE CAVITIES

Correlation between the inhibitory activity of several volatile anesthetics with respect to firefly luciferase and in vivo anesthetic potency. Note the remarkable correlation over four orders of magnitude, validating the use of surrogate proteins to characterize anesthetic targets. 1, acetone; 2, diethyl ether; 3, chloroform; 4, halothane; 5, methoxyflurane; 6, n-pentane. [Data from Franks, N.P. and Lieb, W.R. Nature 310, 599 (1984).]