Desflurane

The mechanism of inhalational anesthetics is still not fully understood. They can block excitatory ion channels and increase the activity of inhibitory ion channels. The most notable agonism is at the GABAA channel. Desflurane is also an agonist of glycine receptors, antagonist of glutamate receptors, inducer of potassium voltage gated channels, and inhibits both NADH-ubiquinone oxioreductase chain 1 and calcium transporting ATPases.

An older school of thought is the unitary theory of general anesthetic action, suggesting that desflurane affects the lipid bilayer of cells. Studies of other halogenated inhalational anesthetics have shown that the lipid bilayer spreads out more thinly as the anesthetic incorporates into the bilayer. However, the anesthetic does not bind to lipid heads or acyl chains of hydrocarbons in the bilayer. The effect of incorporating into the lipid bilayer is not well described. By incorporating into the lipid bilayer, anesthetics may introduce disorder in the lipids, leading to some indirect effect on ion channels. However, this theory remains controversial.