Electron transfer through the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) can be critically blocked by the dysfunction of protein complexes. Redox-active molecules have been used to mediate the electron transfer in place of the dysfunctional complexes; however, they are limited to replacing complex I and are known to be toxic. Here we report artificial mitochondrial electron transfer pathways that enhance ETC activity by exploiting inner-membrane-bound gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as efficient electron transfer mediators. The hybridization of mitochondria with GNPs, driven by electrostatic interaction, is successfully visualized in real time at the level of a single mitochondrion. By observing quantized quenching dips via plasmon resonance energy transfer, we reveal that the hybridized GNPs are bound to the inner membrane of mitochondria irrespective of the presence of the outer membrane. The ETC activity of mitochondria with GNPs such as membrane potential, oxygen consumption, and ATP production is remarkably increased in vitro.
Keywords: ATP production; Mitochondria; electron transport chain; energy; gold nanoparticle; plasmon resonance energy transfer.