Introduction
Isolation of intact mitochondria from human and animal tissue is crucial for studies in aging, diabetes and cancer. High quality functional mitochondrial isolates are also important for drug screening studies [1]. Mitochondria isolation from solid tissue is usually performed by labor-intensive homogenizer-based methods [2] that require extensive operator experience. To facilitate efficient and reproducible mitochondria preparation, we have developed a semi-automated method to release mitochondria from solid fibrous tissues, such as muscle, using The PCT Shredder for tissue homogenization. This method can be combined with a subsequent treatment using pressure cycling technology (PCT) to further increase yield, if desired.