A spiropyran photoswitch is activated using UV light and protons from a form that shows no interaction with DNA to a form that binds to DNA by intercalation. This scheme is interpreted as a biologically relevant logic AND gate with potential applications as a dually controlled anticancer drug.

A small 29 nm monodispersed silica nanoparticle 1a was synthesized as a diarylethene-based reversible fluorescence photoswitch by copolymerizing silane precursors in one-pot including 3a and 4. Reversible photoswitching of nanoparticle 1a was successfully achieved in living cells to show its potential as a highly distinguishable and safe fluorescence probe for cell tracking.

Photoswitching of bis(dithiazole)ethene can be regulated by Hg(II) ions and EDTA in a "lock-and-unlock" manner. The molecular photoswitch provides an enzyme-like binding pocket that selectively binds specifically to mercury ions, thus modulating the degree of photoswitching in its presence.

We propose to utilize azobenzene as a nanomolecular switch which can be triggered by transmitting electrons above threshold biases. The effect is explained by an electron impact trans-cis conformational change of the isolated azobenzene molecules. The molecular electronic states of both isomers have been measured with spatially resolved scanning tunneling microscopy or spectroscopy, leading to ...

Nanomechanical devices or molecular machines will, for a broad range of applications, most likely be powered by light or other kinds of electromagnetic radiation. The major reasons are ease of addressability, picosecond reaction times to external stimuli, and compatibility with a broad range of ambient substances, such as solvents, electrolytes, or gases. Azobenzene is a well-studied photoactiv...

The photochromic properties of azobenzene, involving conformational changes occurring upon interaction with light, provide an excellent tool to establish new ways of selective regulation applied to biosystems. We report here on the binding of two water-soluble 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid derivatives (Azo-2N and Azo-3N) with double stranded DNA and demonstrate that the photoisomerization of Azo-3N...

A new procedure for functionalization of the dihydroazulene photoswitch on its seven-membered ring was developed, which has allowed isolation of the first dihydroazulene with a phenyl substituent at position 5 from a mixture of regioisomers. Light-induced ring-opening to the corresponding vinylheptafulvene and the thermal back-reaction was studied in detail.

Gold-coated diarylethene crystals exhibited photoreversible bending upon alternating irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. The bending behavior can be well explained by the extended bimetal model, which we propose here. Moreover, we have demonstrated that it can be used as an actual electrical circuit photoswitch.

We present a novel approach to reversibly control the assembly of liposomes through an anchored multistimuli responsive DNA oligonucleotide decorated with an azobenzene moiety (AZO-ON1). We show that liposomes assembly can be simultaneously controlled by three external stimuli: light, Mg(2+), and temperature. (i) Light alters the interaction of AZO-ON1 with liposomes, which influences DNA coati...