Molecular Pharmacology, Vol 13, 726-734, Copyright © 1977 by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

The Fluorescent Labeling of Mitochondrial Monoamine Oxidase

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Purified mitochondrial monoamine oxidase is specifically and irreversibly labeled by 5'-(N-dansyl)cadaveryl-p-carboxymethylpargyline, a fluorescent analogue of the drug pargyline. The dansyl moiety is bound in a polar environment and has rotational degrees of freedom independent of the macromolecule. Since monoamine oxidase is found only in the outer mitochondrial membrane, probes of this type can be used to monitor chemical events occurring there.

Note:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Mrs. F. W. Bangerter for her excellent technical assistance, and Professor Lars Oreland for his generous gift of purified pig liver monoamine oxidase.