Inhibition of respiratory complex III by ligands that interact with a regulatory switch

A method of inhibiting respiratory complex III in a cell, comprising:

• contacting the cell with a compound having a structure selected from the group consisting of:
• wherein
• each R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-6 alkyl, C1-6 alkylhydroxy, C1-6 haloalkyl, C1-6 alkoxy, C1-6 haloalkoxy, C6-12 aryl, halogen, hydroxyl, oxide, —CN, —NH2, —NO2, and —C(O)—C1-6 alkyl, and —C(O)O−;
• the subscripts m and n are each independently integers from 0 to 5;
• the subscript p is an integer from 0 to 4;
• the subscripts q and u are each independently integers from 0 to 2;
• and
• the subscript w is an integer from 0 to 3;
• such that the compound binds to respiratory complex III, thereby inhibiting respiratory complex III.