Mitochondrial Targeting of Selective Electron Scavengers: Synthesis and Biological Analysis of Hemigramicidin−TEMPO Conjugates

Synthetic hemigramicidin S-peptidyl TEMPO conjugates are effectively delivered into cells and mitochondria, where they act as electron scavengers and exert protection against apoptosis. Our delivery approach is based on the use of specific structural signaling features recognizable by cells as mitochondria targeting sequences and offers considerable therapeutic anti-apoptotic potential.