https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023807001
Membrane Environment Enables Ultrafast Isomerization of Amphiphilic Azobenzene -INVITED
1 Center for Nano Science and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Pascoli 70/3, 20133, Milano, Italy
2 Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genova, Italy
3 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genova, Italy
4 Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
5 Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
* Corresponding author: giuseppe.paterno@iit.it
Published online: 20 August 2020
We report on the isomerization dynamics of an amphiphilic azobenzene that dwells within the plasma membrane. We found that in aggregates formed in water, the isomerization reaction is hindered, while radiative deactivation is favoured. However, once in the membrane, the molecule reacquires its isomerisation capacity. These data fully account for the recently reported experiments in neurons, showing that the amphiphilic azobenzenes are effective light actuators for the modification of the electrical state of the membrane.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
