[50] Functional properties of rat liver mitochondria immobilized on an alkylsilylated surface

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses functional properties of the rat liver mitochondria immobilized on an alkylsilylated surface. Cellular organelles have been traditionally studied as dilute aqueous suspensions to which substances can be conveniently added, but cannot be easily and quickly removed. Therefore, it has been difficult to simulate their dynamic cellular environment where the concentrations of many substances are continuously changing. For this reason, a technique was desired which would more closely correspond to the conditions in vivo and would permit a wider range of experimental flexibility. In a sense, organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, are stationary in vitro relative to a continuously changing medium, much the same as they would be in vitro affixed to a solid support within a flow system. The chapter explores methods for attaching membrane enclosed particles to a finely divided solid phase. The chapter shows that to date only the rat liver mitochondria have been studied to any appreciable extent by this method, although spinach chloroplasts and rat liver microsomes have also been immobilized on the same support employed for mitochondria.