Resumen:
he weak hydrophobic acid carbonylcyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone (FCCP) is a protonophoric uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. It dissipates the electrochemical proton gradient (ΔμH +) increasing the mitochondrial oxygen consumption. However, at concentrations higher than 1 μM it exhibits additional effects on mitochondrial energy metabolism, which were tentatively related to modifications of electrical properties of the membrane. Here we describe the effect of FCCP on the binding of 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) to 1, 2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and 1,2- dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) unilamellar vesicles. FCCP inhibited the binding of ANS to liposomes either in the gel or in the liquid crystalline phase, by increasing the apparent dissociation constant of ANS. Smaller effect on the dissociation constant was observed at high ionic strength, suggesting that the effect of FCCP is throug