RNA interference controlled by light of variable wavelength
Andreas Meyer, Andriy Mokhir
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, DOI:10.1002/anie.201405885
Known “caged“ siRNAs are activated by UV light, which can be toxic to cells. An siRNAs that can be activated by red light under mild conditions is reported. The uncaging is mediated by 1O2 photo-generated by a photosensitizer, which is attached to the 3’-terminus of the lagging strand. The 5’-terminus of the guide strand is alkylated with a 9-anthracenyl residue.