2.B.113. The Synthetic ortho-Nitrobenzyl- BODIPY Photo-caged Zn(II) Transporter (NBP-ZnT) Family
Gartland et al. 2023 reported the synthesis of an inter-vesicle signaling system, in which diffusible chemical signals trigger transmembrane ion transport in a manner reminiscent of signaling pathways in biology. The system is derived from novel ortho-nitrobenzyl and BODIPY photo-caged Zn(II) transporters, in which cation transport is triggered by photo-decaging with UV or red light, respectively. This decaging reaction can be used to trigger the release of the cationophores from a small population of sender vesicles. This in turn triggers the transport of ions across the membrane of a larger population of receiver vesicles, but not across the sender vesicle membrane, leading to overall inter-vesicle signal transduction and amplification (Gartland et al. 2023).