The action of hydrocarbons and carbon tetrachloride on the sodium current of the squid giant axon.

The effects of the n-alkanes propane to hexane, cyclopropane, cyclopentane and cyclohexane and carbon tetrachloride on the ionic currents and electrical capacity of the squid giant axon membrane have been examined. Both the peak inward and steady-state outward currents were reduced reversibly by each substance, though propane at 1 atm had very little effect. The membrane capacity at 100 kHz was reduced by all substances except propane at 1 atm. Na currents were recorded in intracellularly perfused axons before and during exposure to the hydrocarbons and the records were fitted with equations similar to those proposed by Hodgkin & Huxley (1952). Shifts in the curves of the steady-state activation and inactivation parameters (m infinity and h infinity) against membrane potential, changes in the peak heights of the activation and inactivation time constants (tau m and tau h) and reductions in the maximum Na conductance (gNa) have been tabulated. The effects of the various hydrocarbons and carbon tetrachloride on the parameters of the Hodgkin-Huxley equations suggest that the suppression of the Na current by these substances originates from several different phenomena. The underlying physico-chemical events are considered in the light of the observed capacity changes and of information on artificial pore-containing membranes.