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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19395 |
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| _version_ | 1866916025727975424 |
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| author | Wang, Allan Ozturk, S. Furkan |
| author_facet | Wang, Allan Ozturk, S. Furkan |
| contents | A general mechanism for anesthetic function is not fully understood. Similarly, the mechanism by which xenon, a chemically inert noble gas, can produce anesthetic effects remains ambiguous. However, a previous study reported a surprisingly strong nuclear-spin-dependent variation in anesthetic potency in mice, although no rigorous molecular mechanism was proposed. This perspective examines that observation and explores a potential connection to the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, a phenomenon that can account for spin-dependent processes in chiral systems. Here we propose a mechanism that links spin-dependent charge organization with chiral molecular systems through a kinetic model that reproduces the reported nuclear spin dependence of xenon anesthesia. The model is based on the nuclear spin-dependent permeability of isotopes through homochiral media, which modulates biological function through ligand-receptor binding in analogy with the Hill-Langmuir equation. Unlike mechanisms that require long-range quantum coherence, our framework remains robust under physiological, room-temperature conditions because it relies on the intrinsic stability of the CISS effect in dissipative biological environments. Our analysis motivates further experimental investigation of spin-dependent processes, not limited to anesthesia, in complex living systems where chirality is pervasive. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_19395 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Xenon Anesthesia and Nuclear Spin Effects in Chiral Systems Wang, Allan Ozturk, S. Furkan Biological Physics A general mechanism for anesthetic function is not fully understood. Similarly, the mechanism by which xenon, a chemically inert noble gas, can produce anesthetic effects remains ambiguous. However, a previous study reported a surprisingly strong nuclear-spin-dependent variation in anesthetic potency in mice, although no rigorous molecular mechanism was proposed. This perspective examines that observation and explores a potential connection to the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, a phenomenon that can account for spin-dependent processes in chiral systems. Here we propose a mechanism that links spin-dependent charge organization with chiral molecular systems through a kinetic model that reproduces the reported nuclear spin dependence of xenon anesthesia. The model is based on the nuclear spin-dependent permeability of isotopes through homochiral media, which modulates biological function through ligand-receptor binding in analogy with the Hill-Langmuir equation. Unlike mechanisms that require long-range quantum coherence, our framework remains robust under physiological, room-temperature conditions because it relies on the intrinsic stability of the CISS effect in dissipative biological environments. Our analysis motivates further experimental investigation of spin-dependent processes, not limited to anesthesia, in complex living systems where chirality is pervasive. |
| title | Xenon Anesthesia and Nuclear Spin Effects in Chiral Systems |
| topic | Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19395 |