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Science lesson: How anesthetics work, and why xenon’s perfect

In the operating room, the agent that ticks all those boxes is the gaseous xenon atom.

Xenon is one of the mono-atomic rare, “noble” gases present in trace amounts in the atmosphere. The others are helium, neon, argon, krypton and radon. They are inert, meaning they have extremely low chemical reactivity. Xenon’s sole interaction with biological tissue is the occupation of protein cavities.

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Articles of Interest

How does xenon produce anaesthesia?

Since the discovery that the gas xenon can produce general anaesthesia1 without causing undesirable side effects, we have remained surprisingly ignorant of the molecular mechanisms underlying this clinical activity of an ‘inert’ gas. Although most general anaesthetics enhance the activity of inhibitory GABAA (γ-aminobutyric acid type-A) receptors, we find that the effects of xenon on these receptors are negligible.

Xenon anaesthesia for all, or only a select few?

Xenon has attracted great interest from clinicians as a novel anaesthetic gas as it possesses a number of desirable properties, including low solubility, lack of metabolism, and hemodynamic stability.

Xenon Anesthesia

Because of its considerable expense and the fact that it cannot be synthesized, but rather must be extracted from the atmosphere, it is unlikely that xenon will gain widespread use.

Xenon Anesthesia: Is it in Due Course for a Mainstream Comeback?

Although xenon has not gained a general adoption, it has potential advantages, including extremely low blood/gas solubility, allowing for fast onset and offset of anesthesia; a relatively minor effect on hemodynamic stability; and cytoprotective effects, which are particularly pertinent to neuroprotection.

Xenon: A Solution for Anesthesia in Liver Disease?

So, there is a widespread search for finding safer anesthetic gases with fewer side effects. Xenon, a member of the noble gas family, was discovered for the first time in 1898. However, its anesthetic properties were first described at 1939 and it received more intense attention at 1951 when anesthetic properties of xenon and krypton were reported in Science Journal...

Xenon: elemental anaesthesia in clinical practice

The ‘noble’ gas xenon possesses numerous salubrious qualities which are currently underutilized in the world of clinical medicine; most notably in the field of anaesthesia.

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StatPearls

Interestingly, the gas derives its name from the Greek word for “stranger” for underlining its extreme rarity. Although there are naturally 9 isotopes, the most abundant is Xe 132.