Isolation of biogenetically competent mitochondria from mammalian tissues and cultured cells.

This article describes a quick basic method adapted for the purification of mammalian mitochondria from different sources. The organelles obtained using this protocol are suitable for the investigation of biogenetic activities such as enzyme activity, mtDNA, mtRNA, mitochondrial protein synthesis, and mitochondrial tRNA aminoacylation. In addition, these mitochondria are capable of efficient protein import and the investigation of mtDNA/protein interactions by DNA footprinting is also possible.