Researchers at the University of California are studying new potential anesthetics that do not require the same level of expertise as drugs used in the operating room today.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding a team of researchers at UCSF School of Pharmacy and UC San Diego to find a safer, more cost effective anesthetic, according to a June 18 news release from the University of California.
Brian Shoichet, PhD, and Jason Sello, PhD, are leading a project that utilizes AI, molecule design and animal models to evaluate 6 million small molecules for anesthetic properties.
The compounds that have been identified to affect one of the biological mechanisms triggered by known anesthetics are being tested on zebrafish larvae.
If compounds pass the tests being run, it will eventually be evaluated in mice which puts it on a more traditional path to a clinical trial.
The researchers on the project anticipate moving about 10 drugs on the path to clinical trials, the release said.
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