The potentially curare-like silicon compounds 8a- 8f were synthesized and investigated with respect to their structure-activity relationships. The conformations of the compounds in the solid state and in solution were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis (8a- 8e) and IR NMR spectroscopy (8a- 8f), respectively. The muscle relaxing properties of 8a- 8f were investigated on the mouse. The observed structure-activity relationships are not in accordance with the classical "14 Å model" for neuromuscular blocking agents
