Submitochondrial particle
A
submitochondrial particle is a compartmentalized membranous product of exposing
mitochondria to ultrasound. This causes the cristae to pinch off, and it flips the inner mitochondrial membrane inside out. As a consequence, the
F1 particle is now exposed and on the outside. Using chaotropic agents such as
urea, these particles can be removed, dissociating the related ATPase activity from the membrane. However, the
electron transport complexes remain on the membrane.
If F1 particles are removed from submitochondrial particles, they can be reconstituted by carefully removing the chaotropic agent.