Phototriggered Local Anesthesia.

Abstract

We report a phototriggerable formulation enabling in vivo repeated and on-demand anesthesia with minimal toxicity. Gold nanorods (GNRs) that can convert near-infrared (NIR) light into heat were attached to liposomes (Lip-GNRs), enabling light-triggered phase transition of their lipid bilayers with a consequent release of payload. Lip-GNRs containing the site 1 sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin and the α2-adrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine (Lip-GNR-TD) were injected subcutaneously in the rat footpad. Irradiation with an 808 nm continuous wave NIR laser produced on-demand and repeated infiltration anesthesia in the rat footpad in proportion to the irradiance, with minimal toxicity. The ability to achieve on-demand and repeated local anesthesia could be very beneficial in the management of pain.

• Authors: Changyou Zhan, Weiping Wang, James B McAlvin, Shutao Guo, Brian P Timko, Claudia Santamaria, Daniel S Kohane
• Journal: Nano letters (Nano Lett) Vol. 16 Issue 1 Pg. 177-81 (Jan 13 2016) ISSN: 1530-6992 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26654461 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)

Chemical References

• Liposomes
• Tetrodotoxin
• Dexmedetomidine
• Gold

Topics

• Anesthesia, Local (methods)
• Animals
• Dexmedetomidine (administration & dosage, chemistry)
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Gold (chemistry)
• Humans
• Light
• Liposomes (administration & dosage, chemistry)
• Nanotubes (chemistry)
• Rats
• Tetrodotoxin (administration & dosage, chemistry)