Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Unveiling Xenobiotic Transport and Effects in Isolated Mitochondria: Insights from Respirometric and Enzymatic Assays
Published on: March 7, 2025
Targeting mitochondria with organelle-specific compounds: strategies and applications
Lema F Yousif1, Kelly M Stewart, Shana O Kelley
1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2 (Canada).
Abstract:
Mitochondria are the energy factories of the cell and also serve as a checkpoint regulating programmed cell death. Not surprisingly, dysfunctional mitochondria are implicated in a variety of diseases ranging from metabolic disorders to cancer. Treatment of these diseases through the delivery of targeted drugs, however, is impeded by the difficulty of penetrating the membranes that define this organelle. The properties of this barrier serve as a major obstacle to drug delivery and a lack of effective transporters has hindered the advancement of mitochondrial medicine. Recently, however, synthetic transporters that show promise for the mito-specific delivery of bioactive cargos have begun to emerge. This review summarizes the most exciting of these developments and discusses their applications.
Related Concept Videos
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...
Mitochondrial Membranes
Translocation of Proteins into the Mitochondria
Sorting of outer membrane proteins:
Mitochondrial outer membrane proteins are of two types: the transmembrane, beta-barrel porins, and the membrane-anchored, alpha-helical proteins. Beta-barrel porin precursors are translocated by the TOM complex and inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane by the SAM complex. In contrast,...
The Inner Mitochondrial Membrane
Mitochondria
Mitochondria

