Anaesthetics at the molecular scale

Volatile anaesthetics act reliably and reversibly, yet how they work at the molecular level is still debated. I use molecular dynamics simulations to look at what these small molecules do when they meet possible targets: tubulin, actin and the lipid bilayer of cell membranes.

Microsecond-long simulations of membranes show how anaesthetics change the mechanical properties of the bilayer; simulations of cytoskeletal proteins show where and how strongly they bind.