Procaine

Procaine is a synthetic ester local anesthetic that temporarily blocks nerve-signal conduction. It was widely used in dentistry under the brand name Novocain.

Voltage-gated sodium channel: A membrane protein that opens to let sodium ions enter excitable cells, initiating electrical signals. Procaine reduces nerve impulses by inhibiting these channels from the inside.
Dental anesthesia: The use of drugs to reduce sensation during dental procedures. Dentistry made Novocain, the procaine brand, a household name.
Amide local anesthetics: Local anesthetics whose defining linkage is an amide bond and that are generally metabolized in the liver. Procaine is an ester anesthetic, with different metabolism and allergy associations.
Alfred Einhorn: A German chemist who synthesized procaine in 1905. Einhorn developed procaine as a safer alternative to cocaine for local anesthesia.
Local anesthetic: A drug that reversibly blocks sensation in a limited area without causing loss of consciousness. Procaine is one member of this drug class.
Regional anesthesia: Anesthesia that blocks sensation across a body region while preserving consciousness. Procaine was used in nerve blocks and spinal anesthesia as well as local infiltration.
Cocaine: A naturally occurring tropane alkaloid that blocks monoamine reuptake and also acts as a local anesthetic. Both are ester local anesthetics, but cocaine has strong stimulant effects that procaine lacks.
Cocaine in medicine: The historical medical use of cocaine, including its early role as a local anesthetic. Cocaine’s toxicity and dependence risks motivated the search for substitutes such as procaine.
Ester hydrolysis: A chemical reaction that splits an ester bond using water. Blood enzymes rapidly hydrolyze procaine, limiting its duration of action.
Lidocaine: An amide local anesthetic with rapid onset and broad use in medicine and dentistry. Its advantages helped displace procaine in many procedures.

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4-Aminobenzoic acidRelated: Procaine's ester structure incorporates a PABA-related component.