In vivo reversal of general anesthesia by cucurbit[7]uril with zebrafish models

Abstract

A general anesthetic is a drug that brings about a reversible loss of consciousness, during a surgical or therapeutic procedure to render the patient free of pain and anxiety. However, the effect of anesthetics may linger far beyond the necessary time required and induce adverse effects. In addition, many surgical patients need to recover to a conscious state that allows them to make important decisions soon after their surgery. Unfortunately, there are currently no clinically-available anti-dotes to reverse the effects of anesthetics. In this study, we demonstrate the in vitro supramolecular host–guest complexations between macrocyclic cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and a commonly used general anesthetic in fish, tricaine mesylate (TM), and we report for the first time the in vivo reversal effect of CB[7] to general anesthesia induced by TM with zebrafish models. These findings might lead to a new approach that may allow patients to regain lucidity much faster than their natural recovery from general anesthesia, and may also be used to reverse potentially life-threatening toxic effects encountered by some patients in response to general anesthesia.