Incorporation of a lipophilic series,as coenzyme Q Homologs,din phospholipid vesicles

The incorporation of Coenzyme Q† homologs into phospholipid vesicles to achieve a concentration close to the quinone content of mitochondria has been studied with different methods. The results obtained can be summarized as follows: (a) stirring does not lead to comparable incorporation of the various CoQs tested; (b) ultrasonic irradiation results in a homogeneous incorporation both of the naturally occurring homologs of Coenzyme Q (polyisoprenoid chainlength ranging from ten to six units) and of the nonphysiological shorter chain homologs; (c) ethanol injection, which is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive technique, gives results comparable to those obtained by ultrasonication.