Submitochondrial particle
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This article is about an object derived in the laboratory from an in situ, in vivo organelle, namely mitochondrion
Definition
A submitochondrial particle (SMP) is an in vitro object coming from (part of) the inner mitochondrial membrane. It is obtained from the isolated mitochondrion by subjecting it to sonication, freezing and thawing, high pressure, or osmotic shock. The process is generally applied together to a large number of isolated mitochondria together, so we get a correspondingly large number of SMPs. SMPs can be used to study some aspects of mitochondrial function, such as parts of the electron transport chain.