• G K Wang, C Quan, M Vladimirov, W M Mok, and J G Thalhammer.
• Department of Anesthesia Research Laboratories, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
• Anesthesiology. 1995 Dec 1;83(6):1293-301.

BackgroundUse of long-acting local anesthetics that elicit complete neural blockade for more than 3 h often is desirable in pain management. Unfortunately, clinically available local anesthetics are in general not suitable for prolonged analgesia. This report describes the organic synthesis and functional testing of a lidocaine derivative that appears to fulfill the criteria of long-acting local anesthetics.MethodsA lidocaine derivative, N-beta-phenylethyl lidocaine quaternary ammonium bromide, was synthesized, and its ability to inhibit Na+ currents in cultured rat neuronal GH3 cells was tested in vitro under whole-cell voltage clamp conditions. Neurologic evaluation of sciatic nerve block of sensory and motor functions in vivo was subsequently performed in rats.ResultsN-beta-phenylethyl lidocaine was found to be a potent Na+ channel blocker in vitro. It produced both tonic and use-dependent blocks of Na+ currents that exceeded lidocaine's effects by a factor of > 2 (P < 0.05). In vivo, N-beta-phenylethyl lidocaine elicited a prolonged and complete sciatic nerve block of the motor function and the withdrawal response to noxious pinch that was 3.6- and 9.3-fold longer than that of lidocaine (P < 0.001), respectively.ConclusionsIn an attempt to elicit prolonged local anesthesia, a quaternary ammonium derivative of lidocaine containing a permanent charge and an additional hydrophobic component was synthesized. Complete sciatic neural blockade of more than 3 h was achieved with this derivative. Of note, sensory blockade was prolonged to a greater extent than motor blockade. The approach used in this study may prove useful for developing new drugs applicable in pain management.

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