2-Hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide, a highly reactive reagent towards tryptophan residues in proteins, is shown to activate the passive proton flux through the inner mitochondrial membrane of bovine heart submitochondrial particles (ETPH). When added at low concentrations, the reagent increased both the ATPase activity of the particles and the passive proton transport rate through the membrane. The presence of oligomycin reduced the extent of the 2-Hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide action on the proton conductivity suggesting that it acted primarily on the H+-ATPase complex. Similar effects were observed on F1-depleted particles, whilst no effect was observed on the isolated F1-ATPase activity. The results suggest that polypeptides bearing tryptophan residues may be involved in the gating function of proton channels of the mitochondrial membrane and this is particularly evident for the F0F1-ATPase complex.