Recent Progress in Photoresponsive Biomaterials

Abstract

Photoresponsive biomaterials have garnered increasing attention recently due to their ability to dynamically regulate biological interactions and cellular behaviors in response to light. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the design, synthesis, and applications of photoresponsive biomaterials, including photochromic molecules, photocleavable linkers, and photoreactive polymers. We highlight the various approaches used to control the photoresponsive behavior of these materials, including modulation of light intensity, wavelength, and duration. Additionally, we discuss the applications of photoresponsive biomaterials in various fields, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensing, and optical storage. A selection of significant cutting-edge articles collected in recent years has been discussed based on the structural pattern and light-responsive performance, focusing mainly on the photoactivity of azobenzene, hydrazone, diarylethenes, and spiropyrans, and the design of smart materials as the most targeted and desirable application. Overall, this review highlights the potential of photoresponsive biomaterials to enable spatiotemporal control of biological processes and opens up exciting opportunities for developing advanced biomaterials with enhanced functionality.

New Triphenylphosphonium Salts of Spiropyrans: Synthesis and Photochromic Properties

“…Taking into account the sensitivity of spiropyrans to a wide range of external stimuli [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], we studied the photoinduced transformations of synthesized salts 12 – 16 in ethanol using absorption and luminescence spectroscopy. The choice of the latter as a solvent was due to the excellent solubility of the synthesized compounds in ethanol, as well as plans to conduct tests for biological activity in aqueous-alcoholic solutions.…”

“…Among the most studied classes of organic photochromic structures are spirocyclic compounds, such as spiropyrans, which are capable of switching between the usually colorless cyclic and colored merocyanine forms when exposed to external stimuli such as light [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], temperature [ 4 , 5 ], pressure [ 6 ], environmental polarity [ 2 , 7 ], pH [ 2 , 8 , 9 ], mechanical action [ 2 , 10 ], electric or magnetic field [ 2 , 3 ], which allows their use in memory elements [ 2 , 3 , 11 , 12 ], as optoelectronic devices [ 13 , 14 ], sensors [ 1 , 2 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], light-responsive materials in biology [ 2 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], etc.…”

Innovative Solid-Phase Extraction Strategies for Improving the Advanced Chromatographic Determination of Drugs in Challenging Biological Samples

“…Recently, numerous light-sensitive molecules were researched for the development of light-responsive materials. These molecules include inorganic compounds such as metal oxides and sulfides (such as ZnS, TiO 2 , MoS 2 , and WS 2 ) [85], as well as organic compounds such as azobenzene, stilbene, spiropyran, coumarin, diarylethene, and cinnamate [86][87][88]. Azobenzene undergoes a transformation from trans-to cis-configuration when exposed to UV light at 365 nm.…”

Boosting Ion Conductivities: Light-Modulated Azobenzene-Based Ionic Liquids in Vertical Nanochannels

“…To realize the responsiveness of devices, photoresponsive or photochromic moieties need to be incorporated into the materials. Some commonly used photoresponsive molecules have been developed, such as azobenzene, spiropyran, fulgides, and phthalocyanine. − The key point of adding these photoresponsive molecules to devices is because of their ability to translate external light sources to processable electrical signals with high sensitivity and efficiency. Among all of the known chemical structures, azobenzene is a promising candidate that can undergo a trans–cis isomerization upon irradiation with different wavelengths.…”