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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Thenoyltrifluoroacetone, a potent inhibitor of carboxylesterase activity
Jin Gang Zhang1, Marc W Fariss
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6534, USA. jgzhang@mail.wsu.edu
Abstract:
Thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTFA), a conventional mitochondrial complex II inhibitor, was found to inhibit purified porcine liver carboxylesterase non-competitively with a K(i) of 0.61x10(-6)M and an IC(50) of 0.54x10(-6)M. Both rat plasma and liver mitochondrial esterases were inhibited in a concentration-dependent fashion. Results indicate that TTFA is a potent inhibitor of carboxylesterase activity, in addition to its ability to inhibit mitochondrial complex II activity. Therefore, caution is warranted in using TTFA as a mitochondrial complex inhibitor in combination with esterase substrates, such as fluorescence probes or vitamin E esters.
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