EUROPE: A group of researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University in collaboration with Russian Science Foundation has developed a unique method for the selective study of electron transport chain in living mitochondria by using nondestructive analysis. The study was published in Scientific Reports.
Mitochondria are organelles of fundamental importance for cellular energy production and are often described as “the powerhouse of the cell.” Mitochondria generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), used as a universal source of chemical energy. The main role in the process of ATP synthesis belongs to the transport of electrons between special proteins in the inner mitochondrial membrane, one the most important of which is called cytochrome c.
Mitochondria are of special interest for scientists because these organelles contain mtDNA—molecules that carry maternally inherited genetic information. From this point of view mitochondria are a very interesting object of research for genetic and health scientists who study genetic disorders.
According to Nadezda Brazhe from the Department of Biophysics (Biological Faculty, Moscow State University), there are many methods of mitochondria study, but even the most advanced and sophisticated techniques cannot provide detailed information about the processes that occur inside and in between mitochondrial membranes during electron transport.
Researchers from Moscow State University suggested a novel and promising approach based on the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). During last decade this method becomes more popular in studies of molecule properties in a tube and inside living cells.
