Bioelectricity plays many roles in our bodies.  Ranging from the unconscious control of molecules passing through cell membranes, heartbeat, intestinal motility, secretion of digestive juices to the conscious control of our limbs for sports, everything cannot escape bioelectric control.  Today, we will travel inside the cell and focus on how our energy is derived from ATP Synthase within Mitochondria and observe what role bioelectricity plays in this microscopic interaction.

Mitochondrion is present in every single living cell of the body and is where ATP are produced.  ATP is the energy our body requires for efficient metabolism.  Due to their role, they are often referred to as the “power plant” of the cell.  In the 1960’s, a British scientist successfully extracted ATP synthase from mitochondria.  A year later, Peter Mitchell proposed his theory (Chemiosmosis Hypothesis) to explain ATP synthesis.  ATP synthase utilizes the potential concentration difference of hydrogen molecules across the inner membrane of the mitochondria to produce ATP:  exterior has a high concentration of hydrogen molecules; interior has a low concentration; when the molecules flow from a high to low concentration, they will bind with the ATP synthase located on the inner membrane of the mitochondria and form ATP which is released to the interior of the mitochondria.  In the 1990’s, the biochemist Paul D. Boyer furthered this theory and put forth his “Binding Change Mechanism” explanation of how ATP is manufactured from ATP synthase.