The impact of chirality of the fluorinated volatile inhalation anaesthetics on their clinical applications

This review discusses the various chromatographic enantioseparation methods on an analytical and preparative scale for fluorinated inhalation anaesthe tics used clinically, namely halothane, enflurane, desflurane and isofluran e. The differences in the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics between the enantiomers of those anaesthetics are presented. It can be concluded that using a single enantiomer for these fluorinated anaesthetics is advantageou s over using the racemic mixture. The racemic switch to a single enantiomer for these fluorinated volatile anaesthetics offers a more effective and sa fe general anaesthetic. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.