On the biological importance of the hydrogen bond breaking potency of fluorocarbons

Fluorocarbons containing higher halogens have the potency of breaking certain hydrogen bonds in solutions. The relative strength of this potency varies in the series F < Cl < Br < I and the presence of hydrogen atoms in the fluorocarbon increases it. There is a striking parallelism between the hydrogen bond breaking and the anaesthetic potency of these molecules. It is suggested that the breaking of hydrogen bonds is an important step in the mechanism of anaesthesia.