Phototriggers for light-controlled activation and release applications

Abstract

Photochemical activation and/or release is an important strategy in areas like chemistry, biology, medicine and materials science, through the use of photosensitive moieties. The release and distribution of the target species, with biological, analytical and biomedical relevance, is controlled in time and space by irradiation with a light pulse. Light has gained increasing significance in recent years as a green and cheap reagent, not only in organic chemistry but also in materials and biomedical applications, such as photocontrolled drug delivery methods from nanocarriers, photoresponsive molecular switches, as well as gated materials for the release of guest molecules from porous supports in response to certain stimuli, for example as photoactivable molecular gates.