Photoactivatable Prodrugs

Photoactivatable prodrugs are pharmacologically inactive or less active compounds designed to release or reveal an active drug when exposed to light, enabling precise control over where and when treatment occurs. Illumination triggers photochemical cleavage or structural rearrangement of a light-sensitive protecting group, converting the prodrug into its active form; wavelength, intensity, and exposure duration influence activation. In medicine, this strategy can localize drug action in illuminated tissues, potentially limiting off-target effects and improving control over dose timing. Applications include light-directed cancer therapy, antimicrobial treatment, and experimental photopharmacology, while ongoing research addresses tissue penetration, delivery, and safe activation in living systems.

Photoactivatable Prodrugs - Related Videos

Education

JoVE Core - Pharmacology

Prodrugs

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2023

Prodrugs are a class of pharmaceutical compounds that undergo a biotransformation process within the body to be converted into a pharmacologically active drug. Prodrugs are designed to improve the therapeutic properties of the parent drug, such as enhancing bioavailability, increasing stability, or reducing toxicity. The concept of prodrugs revolves around modifying the chemical structure of the original drug to make it more effective or convenient for administration. Prodrugs help overcome...

Research

JoVE EoE - Immunodiagnostics

Evaluation of Controlled T Cell Activation with a Photoactivatable Peptide MHC

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2025

This video demonstrates a method of decaging a photoactivatable peptide-major histocompatibility complex using UV irradiation. The decaging process exposes the native peptide sequence, enabling precise T cell activation.

Imaging the Intracellular Trafficking of APP with Photoactivatable GFP

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Cited by 6 •

2015

While the transport of cell surface proteins is relatively easily studied, visualizing the trafficking of intracellular proteins is much more difficult. Here, we use constructs incorporating photoactivatable GFP and demonstrate a method to accurately follow the amyloid precursor protein from the Golgi apparatus to down-stream compartments and follow its clearance.

Facile Preparation and Photoactivation of Prodrug-Dye Nanoassemblies

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2023

This protocol describes the fabrication and characterization of a photoresponsive prodrug-dye nanoassembly. The methodology for drug release from the nanoparticles by light-triggered disassembly, including the light irradiation setup, is explicitly described. The drugs released from the nanoparticles following light irradiation exhibited excellent anti-proliferation effects on human colorectal tumor cells.

Spatial and Temporal Control of T Cell Activation Using a Photoactivatable Agonist

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Cited by 5 •

2018

This protocol describes an imaging-based method to activate T lymphocytes using photoactivatable peptide-MHC, enabling precise spatiotemporal control of T cell activation.

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