The mechanism of action of DNP on phospholipid bilayer membranes

Summary The weak acid 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in biological systems and, in consonance with the Mitchell hypothesis, also enhances the conductance of phospholipid bilayer membranes. Several models have been proposed in the literature to explain the molecular mechanism by which DNP exerts its electrical effects on the model membranes, none of which accounts for all of the data, and all of which ignore the possibility that the anion of DNP is also binding to the surface of the bilayer and modifying the charge density. Experimental evidence is presented in this report which suggests that when a bilayer membrane is formed from a neutral lipid, DNP does in fact adsorb to its surface and produce a substantial negative surface potential. When this phenomenon is taken into account, the model proposed by Lea and Croghan and by Finkelstein is capable of describing all of the effects of DNP on bilayer membranes. In this model, the permeant species is a negatively charged complex formed from the undissociated acid and its anion.