in the United States and in Europe. Obstetrics Amide-linked local anesthetic agents, such as lidocaine and bupivacaine, can become "trapped" in their ionized forms on the fetal side of the placenta, so their net transfer across the placenta is increased. An ester-linked local anesthetic agent, such as 2-chloroprocaine, is rapidly metabolized, and placental transfer is limited. Since the metabolism of 2-chloroprocaine by fetal plasma is slower than in maternal plasma, the potential for ion trapping exists. Fetal pH is slightly lower than maternal (7.32 to 7.38), thus most unionized drugs are "ion trapped" to a degree, even in a healthy fetus. Chloroprocaine (pKa 8.7) is the drug of choice for epidural analgesia and a decompensating fetus, because it does not participate in ion trapping. Placental transfer of 2-chloroprocaine is not influenced by fetal acidosis. The in vitro half-life of chloroprocaine is 21 seconds for maternal and 43 seconds for fetal blood. In patients who are homozygous atypical for plasma cholinesterase, chloroprocaine typically exists for two minutes in circulation. Synthesis The hydrochloride salt of 4-amino-2-chlorobenzoyl chloride is made by the reaction of 2-chloro-4-aminobenzoic acid with thionyl chloride. Synthesis of this drug is then accomplished by directly reacting the product of the last step with the hydrochloride salt of 2-diethylaminoethanol. References External links Local anesthetics 4-Aminobenzoate esters Chlorobenzenes Diethylamino compounds