Scientists from Politecnico di Milano and the IRCCS Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta have developed a way to coat mitochondria with advanced materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) without disrupting their ability to generate energy. The work, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, addresses a major challenge: mitochondria are delicate, and previous attempts to modify them often impaired their function.
The team applied tiny amounts of MOFs directly to the mitochondrial surface. In tests, the coated mitochondria continued to produce energy, showing that the surface modification did not compromise their essential role. Because MOFs can be tailored for different purposes, the coating could potentially be engineered to perform specific functions, such as helping mitochondria interact with cells during transplantation.
Mitochondrial transplantation is an experimental technique that aims to introduce healthy mitochondria into cells with malfunctioning ones. The researchers suggest that a specially designed coating might one day facilitate this transfer, but they stress that this possibility remains unproven. Further studies are needed to determine whether coated mitochondria actually perform better than uncoated ones in transplantation settings. The project was led by PhD candidate Marco D'Amato and supported by Italy's Ministry of Health through the Cal.Hub.Ria initiative.