Reversible, Spatial and Temporal Control over Protein Activity Using Light

In biomedical sciences, the function of a protein of interest is investigated by altering its net activity and assessing the consequences for the cell or organism. To change the activity of a protein, a wide variety of chemical and genetic tools have been developed. The drawback of most of these tools is that they do not allow for reversible, spatial and temporal control. Here, we describe selected developments in photopharmacology that aim at establishing such control over protein activity through bioactive molecules with photo-controlled potency. We also discuss why such control is desired and what challenges still need to be overcome for photopharmacology to reach its maturity as a chemical biology research tool.