Red/near-infrared light triggered photorelease via sensitized photolysis

Abstract

Photoremovable protecting groups (PPGs) have become significant optical molecular tools in modern biomedicine. The unique property of photorelease allows noninvasively manipulating physiological processes with high spatial-temporal resolution. Red/near-infrared (NIR) light activatable is crucial for biomedical applications. Apart from red/NIR light absorbing PPGs, the short-wavelength light absorbing PPGs could also achieve photolysis upon red/NIR light excitation by simply introducing appropriate photosensitizers, displaying significant superiorities in chemical synthesis and photobleaching resistance. Besides, the main molecular scaffolds of PPGs are remained unchanged, avoiding unpredictable photolysis performance degradation. In this review, the mechanisms, design principles and biomedical applications of the sensitized photolysis will be well discussed and summarized, hoping to provide guidelines and references for developing relevant photorelease systems and their biomedical applications.