Using azobenzene photocontrol to set proteins in motion

Abstract

Controlling the activity of proteins with azobenzene photoswitches is a potent tool for manipulating their biological function. With the help of light, one can change e.g. binding affinities, control allostery or temper with complex biological processes. Additionally, due to their intrinsically fast photoisomerisation, azobenzene photoswitches can serve as triggers to initiate out-of-equilibrium processes. Such switching of the activity, therefore, initiates a cascade of conformational events, which can only be accessed with time-resolved methods. In this Review, we will show how combining the potency of azobenzene photoswitching with transient spectroscopic techniques helps to disclose the order of events and provide an experimental observation of biomolecular interactions in real-time. This will ultimately help us to understand how proteins accommodate, adapt and readjust their structure to answer an incoming signal and it will complete our knowledge of the dynamical character of proteins.

Watching the release of a photopharmacological drug from tubulin using time-resolved serial crystallography

“…In chemistry, they can be used to control solid-to-liquid transitions ( 6 ). Biologists in turn have adapted synthetic photoswitches for the optical control of peptide ( 7 ) and protein functions ( 8 ) up to the neuromodulation of living mice ( 9 ). Finally, the field of photopharmacology uses photochemical affinity switches to localize therapeutic drug dose and reduce harmful side-effects ( 10 ).…”

Photoresponsive Metal-Organic Frameworks as Adjustable Scaffolds in Reticular Chemistry

“…Azobenzenes are a type of organic compound constituted by two benzene rings connected through an azo functionality. The huge variations in the shape, polarity and size induced by cis/trans photoisomerization (Figure 2) makes them one of the most extensively studied photoswitchable molecules [54][55][56][57]. Azobenzenes are postulated as convenient scaffolds to induce a photoresponsive behavior in condensed materials through easy isomerization between both geometric isomers [58].…”

The Development and Application of Opto-Chemical Tools in the Zebrafish

“…Responding to both light and temperature, azobenzene and its derivatives can isomerize between the Z and E conformations ( Figure 2 C). By choosing different substituents on the benzene ring, the physical properties of azobenzene compounds such as solubility and excitation wavelength can vary greatly [ 40 , 41 , 42 ], facilitating their applications to diverse needs. Numerous azobenzene-based photo-switchable components have since been engineered and applied to study various biological processes both in vitro and in vivo [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”