Ionophores

Hinokitiol (β-thujaplicin) is a natural monoterpenoid found in the wood of trees in the family Cupressaceae. It is a tropolone derivative and one of the thujaplicins. Hinokitiol is used in oral and skin care products, and is a food additive used in Japan.

2,4-Dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP or simply DNP) is an organic compound with the formula . It occurs as yellow crystals or platelets. It has been used in explosives manufacturing and as a pesticide and herbicide.

thumb|right|420 px|Carrier and channel ionophores (a) Carrier ionophores reversibly bind ions and carry them through cell membranes. (b) Channel ionophores create channels within cell membranes to facilitate the transport of ions.

Valinomycin is a naturally occurring dodecadepsipeptide used in the transport of potassium and as an antibiotic. Valinomycin is obtained from the cells of several Streptomyces species, S. fulvissimus being a notable one.

chemical compound

Monensin is a polyether antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces cinnamonensis. It is widely used in ruminant animal feeds.

Ionomycin is an ionophore and an antibiotic that binds calcium ions (Ca2+) in a ratio 1:1. It is produced by the bacterium Streptomyces conglobatus. It binds also other divalent cations like magnesium and cadmium, but binds Ca2+ preferably.

Nigericin is an antibiotic derived from Streptomyces hygroscopicus. Its isolation from soil from Nigeria was described in the 1950s, by R.L Harned (et. al), and in 1968 the structure could be elucidated by X-ray crystallography. The structure and properties of nigericin are similar to the antibiotic monensin. Commercially it is obtained as a byproduct, or contaminant, at the fermentation of geldanamycin. It is also called polyetherin A, azalomycin M, helixin C, antibiotic K178, and antibiotic X-464.

Salinomycin is an antibacterial and coccidiostat ionophore therapeutic drug. It is widely researched for its anticancer stem cell properties.

Cereulide is a heat-stable toxin produced by some strains of Bacillus cereus, B. megaterium and related species. It is a potent cytotoxin that destroys mitochondria. It causes nausea and vomiting.

Beauvericin is a depsipeptide with antibiotic and insecticidal effects belonging to the enniatin family. It was isolated from the fungus Beauveria bassiana, but is also produced by several other fungi, including several Fusarium species; it may therefore occur in grain (such as corn, wheat and barley) contaminated with these fungi. Beauvericin is active against Gram-positive bacteria and mycobacteria, and is also capable of inducing programmed cell death in mammals.

chemical compound

Nonactin is a member of a family of naturally occurring cyclic ionophores known as the macrotetrolide antibiotics. The other members of this homologous family are monactin, dinactin, trinactin and tetranactin which are all neutral ionophoric substances and higher homologs of nonactin. Collectively, this class is known as the nactins. Nonactin is soluble in acetone, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and DMSO, but insoluble in water.

A23187 is a mobile ion-carrier that forms stable complexes with divalent cations (ions with a charge of +2). A23187 is also known as Calcimycin, Calcium Ionophore, Antibiotic A23187 and Calcium Ionophore A23187. It is produced at fermentation of Streptomyces chartreusensis.

An uncoupler or uncoupling agent is a molecule that disrupts oxidative phosphorylation in prokaryotes and mitochondria or photophosphorylation in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria by dissociating the reactions of ATP synthesis from the electron transport chain. The result is that the cell or mitochondrion expends energy to generate a proton-motive force, but the proton-motive force is dissipated before the ATP synthase can recapture this energy and use it to make ATP. Because the intracellular supply of protons is replenished, uncouplers actually stimulate cellular metabolism and oxygen consumpti

Thujaplicin (isopropyl cycloheptatrienolone) is any of three isomeric tropolone-related natural products that have been isolated from the softwoods of the trees of Cupressaceae family. These compounds are known for their antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. They were the first natural tropolones to be made synthetically.

A protonophore, also known as a proton translocator, is an ionophore that moves protons across lipid bilayers or other type of membranes. This would otherwise not occur as protons (H+) have positive charge and have hydrophilic properties, making them unable to cross without a channel or transporter. Protonophores are generally aromatic compounds with a negative charge, that are both hydrophobic and capable of distributing the negative charge over a number of atoms by π-orbitals which delocalize a proton's charge when it attaches to the molecule. Both the neutral and the charged protonophore ca