Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP), is a chemical inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the oxidation of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate . Although the many forms of life on earth use a range of different nutrients, almost all aerobic organisms carry out oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP,...

. It is a nitrile

Nitrile

A nitrile is any organic compound that has a -C≡N functional group. The prefix cyano- is used interchangeably with the term nitrile in industrial literature. Nitriles are found in many useful compounds, one example being super glue .Inorganic compounds containing the -C≡N group are not called...

, hydrazone

Hydrazone

Hydrazones are a class of organic compounds with the structure R1R2C=NNH2. They are related to ketones and aldehydes by the replacement of the oxygen with the NNH2 functional group...

 and ionophore

Ionophore

An ionophore is a lipid-soluble molecule usually synthesized by microorganisms to transport ions across the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane...

. In general, CCCP causes the gradual destruction of living cells and death of the organism. The CCCP affects the protein synthesis reactions in seedling mitochondria. CCCP causes an uncoupling of the proton gradient that is established during the normal activity of electron carriers in the electron transport chain. The chemical acts essentially as an ionophore and reduces the ability of ATP synthase to function optimally.