Enhancing the Mitochondrial Uptake of Phosphonium Cations by Carboxylic Acid Incorporation.

ABSTRACT: There is considerable interest in developing drugs and probes targeted to mitochondria in order to understand and treat the many pathologies associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. The large membrane potential, negative inside, across the mitochondrial inner membrane enables delivery of molecules conjugated to lipophilic phosphonium cations to the organelle. Due to their combination of charge and hydrophobicity, quaternary triarylphosphonium cations rapidly cross biological membranes without the requirement for a carrier. Their extent of uptake is determined by the magnitude of the mitochondrial membrane potential, as described by the Nernst equation. To further enhance this uptake here we explored whether incorporation of a carboxylic acid into a quaternary triarylphosphonium cation wo

SUBMITTER: Pala L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7509049 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature