The complex network of naturally occurring biological pathways motivates the development of new synthetic molecules to perturb and/or detect these processes for fundamental research and clinical applications. In this context, photochemical tools have emerged as an approach to control the activity of drug or probe molecules at high temporal and spatial resolutions. Traditional photochemical tools, particularly photolabile protecting groups (photocages) and photoswitches, rely on high-energy UV light that is only applicable to cells or transparent model animals. More recently, such designs have evolved into the visible and near-infrared regions with deeper tissue penetration, enabling photocontrol to study biology in tissue and model animal contexts. This Review highlights recent developments in synthetic far-red and near-infrared photocages and photoswitches and their current and potential applications at the interface of chemistry and biology.

中文翻译：

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生物学的时空控制：远红光和近红外光合成光化学工具箱

自然发生的生物途径的复杂网络促使开发新的合成分子来扰乱和/或检测这些过程以用于基础研究和临床应用。在这种情况下，光化学工具已经成为一种在高时间和空间分辨率下控制药物或探针分子活性的方法。传统的光化学工具，特别是对光不稳定的保护基团（光笼）和光开关，依赖于仅适用于细胞或透明模型动物的高能紫外线。最近，此类设计已经发展到具有更深组织穿透力的可见光和近红外区域，使光控能够研究组织和模型动物环境中的生物学。