Photoremovable Protecting Groups: Across the Light Spectrum to Near-Infrared Absorbing Photocages

Authors

  • Peter Štacko Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich; Prievidza Chemical Society, M. Hodžu 10/16, 971 01 Prievidza, Slovakia
  • Tomáš Šolomek Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, CH-3012 Bern; Prievidza Chemical Society, M. Hodžu 10/16, 971 01 Prievidza, Slovakia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2021.873

PMID:

34728015

Keywords:

photocages, Photoremovable protecting groups, Photochemistry

Abstract

We discuss the past decade of progress in the field of photoremovable protecting groups that allowed the development of photocages activatable by near-IR light and highlight the individual conceptual advancements that lead to general guidelines to design new such photoremovable protecting groups. We emphasize the importance of understanding the individual photochemical reaction mechanisms that was necessary to achieve this progress and provide an outlook of the subsequent steps to facilitate a swift translation of this research into clinical praxis. Since this issue of CHIMIA is dedicated to the late Prof. Thomas Bally, we decided to provide a personal perspective on the field to which he contributed himself. We tried to write this review with the general readership of CHIMIA in mind in a hope to pay a tribute to the extraordinary dedication and clarity with which Thomas Bally used to explain abstract chemical concepts to his students or colleagues. We are uncertain whether we matched such challenge but we believe that he would have liked such approach very much.

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Published

2021-10-11

Issue

Section

Scientific Articles