Nature Methods
- 4, 619 - 628 (2007)
Published online: 30 July 2007; | doi:10.1038/nmeth1072
Caged compounds: photorelease technology for control of cellular chemistry and physiologyGraham C R Ellis-Davies
Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Graham C R Ellis-Davies ged@drexel.edu Caged compounds are light-sensitive probes that functionally encapsulate biomolecules in an inactive form. Irradiation liberates the trapped molecule, permitting targeted perturbation of a biological process. Uncaging technology and fluorescence microscopy are 'optically orthogonal': the former allows control, and the latter, observation of cellular function. Used in conjunction with other technologies (for example, patch clamp and/or genetics), the light beam becomes a uniquely powerful tool to stimulate a selected biological target in space or time. Here I describe important examples of widely used caged compounds, their design features and synthesis, as well as practical details of how to use them with living cells.
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