Recent Implementations of Molecular Photoswitches into Smart Materials and Biological Systems

Light is a nearly ideal stimulus for molecular systems. It delivers information encoded in the form of wavelengths and their intensities with high precision in space and time. Light is a mild trigger that does not permanently contaminate targeted samples. Its energy can be reversibly transformed int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry : a European journal 2019-04, Vol.25 (20), p.5128-5144
Main Author: Pianowski, Zbigniew L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adapters
Biological materials
Chain dynamics
Chemistry
Coding
Information systems
Light levels
Luminous intensity
Molecular motion
molecular photoswitches
Nanomaterials
nanostructures
Nanotechnology
photochromism
photopharmacology
Polarity
Smart materials
Spiropyrans
Wavelengths
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Summary:Light is a nearly ideal stimulus for molecular systems. It delivers information encoded in the form of wavelengths and their intensities with high precision in space and time. Light is a mild trigger that does not permanently contaminate targeted samples. Its energy can be reversibly transformed into molecular motion, polarity, or flexibility changes. This leads to sophisticated functions at the supramolecular and macroscopic levels, from light‐triggered nanomaterials to photocontrol over biological systems. New methods and molecular adapters of light are reported almost daily. Recently reported applications of photoresponsive systems, particularly azobenzenes, spiropyrans, diarylethenes, and indigoids, for smart materials and photocontrol of biological setups are described herein with the aim to demonstrate that the 21st century has become the Age of Enlightenment—“Le siècle des Lumières”—in molecular sciences. Enlightening progress: Molecular photoswitches (see figure) reversibly transfer light energy into sophisticated functions, from light‐triggered materials to photomodulation of complex biological systems. The applications selected for this Minireview demonstrate that the 21st century has truly become the Age of Enlightenment in molecular sciences.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.201805814