Category: pharmacological
Aliases: 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2-4-dinitrophenol, DNP, Dinitrophenol
A lipophilic protonophore that uncouples mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation — shuttling protons across the inner membrane collapses the electrochemical gradient, so substrate oxidation continues but ATP synthesis does not and the energy dissipates as heat. This drives a large rise in metabolic rate and fat oxidation (the basis of its illicit fat-loss use) but the same mechanism produces uncontrolled hyperthermia. DNP has no antidote and no therapeutic window — effective and lethal doses overlap, and its long persistence has caused many fatalities.
PO: 18h