The donor–acceptor biphenyl platform: A versatile chromophore for the engineering of highly efficient two-photon sensitive photoremovable protecting groups†
Alexandre Specht,Frédéric Bolze,Loïc Donato,Cyril Herbivo,Sébastien Charon,David Warther,Jean-François Nicoud,Maurice Goeldner
Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences Pub Date : 02/10/2012 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C2PP05360H
Abstract

Different photoremovable protecting groups in the o-nitrobenzyl, phenacyl, and 2-(o-nitrophenyl)propyl series with a donor–acceptor biphenyl backbone, known to display excellent two-photon absorption cross-sections, were investigated in order to develop efficient two-photon sensitive photoremovable protecting groups. The 2-(o-nitrophenyl)propyl series was a more versatile platform to increase the two-photon sensitivity of photoremovable protecting groups, leading to the p-alkoxy and p-bisalkylamino-4-nitro-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-yl)propyl derivatives: PENB and EANBP respectively. Those two photoremovable protecting groups are to date the best caging groups for two-photon excitation at 800 and 740 nm respectively, offering attracting perspectives in chemical biology.

Graphical abstract: The donor–acceptor biphenyl platform: A versatile chromophore for the engineering of highly efficient two-photon sensitive photoremovable protecting groups