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Chimia Oct 2021Thomas Bally has acquired international recognition for his work on the photochemistry of reactive intermediates, which include radical ions. Here, we present a brief...
Thomas Bally has acquired international recognition for his work on the photochemistry of reactive intermediates, which include radical ions. Here, we present a brief overview of our investigations of the excited-state dynamics of radical ions in liquids at room temperature, which are still poorly documented. A better understanding of these dynamics is most relevant, as open-shell ions in the excited state are being increasingly used in redox photochemistry and have been proposed to play a key role in highly exergonic photoinduced electron transfer reactions.
Topics: Electron Transport; Electrons; Ions; Oxidation-Reduction; Photochemistry
PubMed: 34728012
DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2021.856 -
Nature Chemical Biology May 2017Developmental biology has been continually shaped by technological advances, evolving from a descriptive science into one immersed in molecular and cellular mechanisms....
Developmental biology has been continually shaped by technological advances, evolving from a descriptive science into one immersed in molecular and cellular mechanisms. Most recently, genome sequencing and 'omics' profiling have provided developmental biologists with a wealth of genetic and biochemical information; however, fully translating this knowledge into functional understanding will require new experimental capabilities. Photoactivatable probes have emerged as particularly valuable tools for investigating developmental mechanisms, as they can enable rapid, specific manipulations of DNA, RNA, proteins, and cells with spatiotemporal precision. In this Perspective, we describe optochemical and optogenetic systems that have been applied in multicellular organisms, insights gained through the use of these probes, and their current limitations. We also suggest how chemical biologists can expand the reach of photoactivatable technologies and bring new depth to our understanding of organismal development.
Topics: Developmental Biology; Genomics; Models, Biological; Molecular Probes; Molecular Structure; Photochemistry; Rhodopsin
PubMed: 28514427
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2369 -
Annual Review of Chemical and... Jun 2023In the past two decades, we have witnessed a rapid emergence of new and powerful photochemical and photocatalytic synthetic methods. Although these methods have been... (Review)
Review
In the past two decades, we have witnessed a rapid emergence of new and powerful photochemical and photocatalytic synthetic methods. Although these methods have been used mostly on a small scale, there is a growing need for efficient scale-up of photochemistry in the chemical industry. This review summarizes and contextualizes the advancements made in the past decade regarding the scale-up of photo-mediated synthetic transformations. Simple scale-up concepts and important fundamental photochemical laws have been provided along with a discussion concerning suitable reactor designs that should facilitate scale-up of this challenging class of organic reactions.
Topics: Photochemical Processes; Photochemistry
PubMed: 36913716
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-101121-074313 -
Environmental Science & Technology Dec 2022Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most promising technologies for indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) elimination due to its low cost, safe operation, energy... (Review)
Review
Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most promising technologies for indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) elimination due to its low cost, safe operation, energy efficiency, and high mineralization efficiency under ambient conditions. However, the practical applications of this technology are limited, despite considerable research efforts in recent decades. Until now, most of the works were carried out in the laboratory and focused on exploring new catalytic materials. Only a few works involved the immobilization of catalysts and the design of reactors for practical applications. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes the research and development on photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of VOCs, with emphasis on recent catalyst's immobilization and reactor designs in detail. First, different types of photocatalytic materials and the mechanisms for PCO of VOCs are briefly discussed. Then, both the catalyst's immobilization techniques and reactor designs are reviewed in detail. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives for PCO of VOCs are proposed. This work aims to provide updated information and research inspirations for the commercialization of this technology in the future.
Topics: Volatile Organic Compounds; Air Pollution, Indoor; Photochemistry; Catalysis; Oxidation-Reduction
PubMed: 36367480
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05444 -
Advances in Biochemical... 2016This chapter presents biophotoelectrochemical systems where one of nature's photosynthetic proteins, such as photosystem 1 (PS1), photosystem 2 (PS2), or bacterial... (Review)
Review
This chapter presents biophotoelectrochemical systems where one of nature's photosynthetic proteins, such as photosystem 1 (PS1), photosystem 2 (PS2), or bacterial reaction centers, are employed to create devices for technological applications. We use recent advances in biophotoelectrodes for energy conversion and sensing to illustrate the fundamental approaches in half-cell design and characterization. The aim is to guide electrochemists and photosynthetic researchers in the development of hybrid systems interfacing photosynthetic proteins with electrodes ranging from biosensors to biophotovoltaic cells. The first part gives an overview of the photosynthetic electron transfer chain with details on photosynthetic proteins and on the properties relevant for technological applications. The second part describes and critically discusses the main applications of biophotoelectrochemical cells based on photosynthetic proteins and exposes the respective requirement in electrode design. The following and final parts present the standard methodologies for the characterization of the biophotoelectrochemical half-cells with the main objectives of enhancing our mechanistic understanding of electron transfer, charge recombination, overpotential in photocurrent generation and protein degradation processes in devices, and thus open the perspectives for novel biophotoelectrochemical concepts and their rational optimization toward practical efficiencies.
Topics: Biosensing Techniques; Conductometry; Electrochemistry; Equipment Design; Light; Photochemistry; Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins
PubMed: 27475649
DOI: 10.1007/10_2016_7 -
Macromolecular Rapid Communications Sep 2020Bioorthogonal chemistry is revolutionizing the fields of biological chemistry and nanomedicine, providing tools to actively probe and perturb native biochemical... (Review)
Review
Bioorthogonal chemistry is revolutionizing the fields of biological chemistry and nanomedicine, providing tools to actively probe and perturb native biochemical processes. Photochemistry provides the opportunity to actively and non-invasively control bioorthogonal reactions, providing sophisticated optochemical tools. Despite the opportunities in bioorthogonal photochemistry, there remain many significant challenges to the clinical translation of current research. This review aims to provide an overview of these challenges and highlight recent examples from the literature that are providing revolutionary solutions to overcoming these barriers. It will highlight new photochemical systems that can be triggered by near infrared light in aqueous solutions and have been demonstrated to function in complex biological systems, including in living animals. It will cover diverse classes of photochemical reactions including photopolymerization, uncaging, conjugation, and photoswitching. The discussion will detail how new approaches are being integrated into polymers or highlight unexploited opportunities. This review intends to showcase how the unique synergy of bioorthogonal photochemistry and polymer science provides vast opportunities in the fields of biomaterials, nanomedicine, and theranostics. This will hopefully provide inspiration to material scientists to integrate bioorthogonal photochemistry into new adaptable materials and ensure translation to solve clinical challenges.
Topics: Animals; Photochemistry; Polymers; Water
PubMed: 32656958
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202000305 -
Journal of Chemical Theory and... Jan 2024The tuning mechanism of pH can be extremely challenging to model computationally in complex biological systems, especially with respect to the photochemical properties....
The tuning mechanism of pH can be extremely challenging to model computationally in complex biological systems, especially with respect to the photochemical properties. This article reports a protocol aimed at modeling pH-dependent photodynamics using a combination of constant-pH molecular dynamics and semiclassical nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. With retinal photoisomerization in Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) as a testbed, we show that our protocol produces pH-dependent photochemical properties, such as the isomerization quantum yield or decay rates. We decompose our results into single-titrated residue contributions, identifying some key tuning amino acids. Additionally, we assess the validity of the single protonation state picture to represent the system at a given pH and propose the most populated protein charge state as a compromise between cost and accuracy.
Topics: Photochemistry; Rhodopsin; Anabaena; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 38198619
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00980 -
Chemical Society Reviews Oct 2021The progress of drug discovery and development is paced by milestones reached in organic synthesis. In the last decade, the advent of late-stage functionalization (LSF)... (Review)
Review
The progress of drug discovery and development is paced by milestones reached in organic synthesis. In the last decade, the advent of late-stage functionalization (LSF) reactions has represented a valuable breakthrough. Recent literature has defined these reactions as the chemoselective modification of complex molecules by means of C-H functionalization or the manipulation of endogenous functional groups. Traditionally, these diversifications have been accomplished by organometallic means. However, the presence of metals carries disadvantages related to their cost, environmental hazard and health risks. Fundamentally, green chemistry directives can help minimize such hazards through the development of metal-free LSF methodologies. In this review, we expand the current discussion on metal-free LSF reactions by providing an overview of C(sp)-H, and C(sp)-H functionalizations, as well as the utilization of heteroatom-containing functional groups as chemical handles. Selected topics such as metal-free cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions, organocatalysis, electrochemistry and photochemistry are also discussed. By writing the first review on metal-free LSF methodologies, we aim to highlight current advances in the field with examples that reveal specific challenges and solutions, as well as future research opportunities.
Topics: Drug Discovery; Metals; Photochemistry
PubMed: 34382989
DOI: 10.1039/d1cs00380a -
Journal of Nanoscience and... Feb 2015This paper reviews the recent research and development of novel visible-light induced photocatalysts with nanostructures. In recent years, Ag3PO4-based and BiVO4-based... (Review)
Review
This paper reviews the recent research and development of novel visible-light induced photocatalysts with nanostructures. In recent years, Ag3PO4-based and BiVO4-based nanomaterials have drawn wide attention due to their narrow band gap and excellent photocatalytic performance. The development of the new material covers the synthesis condition, unique morphology, further modification which focused on the Ag3PO4 and BiVO4, respectively. Meanwhile, titanium dioxide has already become one of the classical photocatalyst. However, the band gap of TiO2 (3.2 eV) limits its efficient utilization of solar energy, two categories novel modification methods of TiO2 are proposed to make them active under visible light illumination. Using polymers and dye to modify TiO2 is a wonderful approach to achieve excellent electronic and optical properties mainly in aspect of photocatalytic application. Therefore, the paper summarizes novel nanosized photocatalysts with visible-light response including Ag3PO4-based, BiVO4-based and TiO2-based materials, and suggests the further research prospect for the visible-light induced photocatalysts.
Topics: Catalysis; Coloring Agents; Light; Metal Nanoparticles; Nanocomposites; Particle Size; Photochemistry; Surface Properties
PubMed: 26353598
DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2015.9784 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Dec 2019
Topics: Photochemistry; Solar Energy; Sunlight
PubMed: 31867691
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-07334-w