Ruthenium caged compounds: manipulation of cellular activity with

ETCHENIQUE, ROBERTO

Suzhou

Conferencia; New Advances in Optical Imaging of Live Cells and Organisms 2013; 2013

Cold Spring Harbor Asia

Caged compounds based on Ruthenium chemistry differ from traditional organic-based caged compounds in two main characteristics: 1) They are photoactive at visible light, instead of UV and 2) The photocleavage mechanism operates through a heterolytic bond rupture that ensures a clean reaction and absence of radicals. In this talk we will present the state-of-the-art of the chemistry of Ruthenium based phototriggers, including caged neurotransmitters, fluorophores and genetic inducers. Ruthenium phototriggers can be used also in two-photon regime, by using femtosecond pulsed IR light. This technique increases the penetration into deep tissue and minimizes photodamage. On the other way, use of cheap visible LEDs, laser diodes or DPDSS lasers up to 532 nm allows inexpensive manipulation of cells, tissues or organisms.