Patent ID: 8741853

Claim:
A preformed coupled antioxidant-carrier complex for in-situ reaction with such reactive oxygen species as may then be present within the interior of mitochondria in a living cell, said coupled antioxidant-carrier complex being an interchangeable surrogate of acyl CoA thioesters and consisting essentially of: an acyclic (alkyl) carnitinoid analog carrier molecule having the stereo-chemical structure of wherein W and Y are each independently comprised of one to three carbon atoms and selected from the group consisting of C(Z 1 Z 2 ), C(Z 1 Z 2 )C(Z 3 Z 4 ), and C(Z 1 Z 2 )C(Z 3 Z 4 )C(Z 5 Z 6 ) where Z 1 , Z 2 , Z 3 , Z 4 , Z 5 , and Z 6 each are independently a carbonyl oxygen atom, or a null atom which satisfies carbon valency, or a hydrogen atom, or a hydroxyl group, where Z is a carbonyl oxygen atom, or two hydrogen atoms, where R is a lone-pair of electrons (zwitterion), or a hydrogen atom, or is an aliphatic moiety, or an aromatic moiety, or a combination of both aliphatic and aromatic moieties, and where X is a negatively charged ion, and wherein said acyclic (alkyl) carnitinoid analog carrier molecule (i) presents at least one discrete hydroxyl group in a stereochemical position analogous to the beta-hydroxyl group in naturally occurring carnitine for chemical reaction, said stereochemically positioned hydroxyl group being in direct reversible attachment to and detachment from a pre-chosen biologically active non-metal antioxidant, (ii) optionally presents at least a second discrete hydroxyl group available for on-demand reaction with and reversible attachment to a second biologically active non-metal antioxidant, (iii) is capable of entering into a living cell in-situ and passing into the interior of mitochondria then present within that living cell, (iv) demonstrably allows for the subsequent release of a reversibly bound biologically active non-metal antioxidant in-situ within the interior of mitochondria then present in that living cell; and at least one pre-chosen, biocompatible and biologically active non-metal antioxidant which (α) has covalently bonded with and become reversibly attached to at least one hydroxyl group of said acyclic (alkyl) carnitinoid analog carrier molecule to form a coupled antioxidant-carrier complex (β) is chemically devoid of metal constituents, (γ) can be transported into the interior of mitochondria in a living cell by said acyclic (alkyl) carnitinoid analog carrier molecule as a coupled antioxidant-carrier complex, (δ) will be released as a discrete entity from said acyclic (alkyl) carnitinoid analog carrier molecule into the interior of mitochondria in a living cell, (ε) is biologically active after release from a coupled antioxidant-carrier complex for in-situ reaction, and (ζ) will react after release from a coupled antioxidant-carrier complex with such reactive oxygen species as may then be present within the interior of mitochondria in a living cell.