The rapidly expanding field of photoswitchable biomolecules is a major frontier in scientific research and provides unparalleled opportunities for studying biological pathways and disease progression. In particular, the development of photochromic peptides has delivered both scientific tools and candidates for photopharmaceuticals. The action and function of the peptide can be remotely altered using light, allowing detection of its biological role in complex biological settings, while also enabling folding studies that provide greater understanding of protein structure dynamics. In this review we provide a key, comprehensive overview of the different types of photoswitches that have been used to control peptide structure, excluding the already extensively reviewed azobenzene. This will help address the question as to which synthetic photoswitch to use in a given study.

光开关生物分子的迅速发展领域是科学研究的主要领域，并为研究生物途径和疾病进展提供了无与伦比的机会。特别地，光致变色肽的开发已经提供了科学的工具和光药物的候选者。该肽的作用和功能可以通过光远程改变，从而可以检测其在复杂生物环境中的生物学作用，同时还可以进行折叠研究，从而对蛋白质结构动力学有更深入的了解。在这篇综述中，我们提供了已用于控制肽结构的不同类型的光敏开关的关键而全面的概述，但不包括已广泛综述的偶氮苯。