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Updated: May 10, 2026

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Ruthenium polypyridyl phototriggers: from beginnings to perspectives
Leonardo Zayat1, Oscar Filevich, Luis M Baraldo
1Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, INQUIMAE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria Pabellón 2 Piso 3, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
Octahedral Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes constitute a superb platform to devise photoactive triggers capable of delivering entire molecules in a reliable, fast, efficient and clean way. Ruthenium coordination chemistry opens the way to caging a wide range of molecules, such as amino acids, nucleotides, neurotransmitters, fluorescent probes and genetic inducers. Contrary to other phototriggers, these Ru-based caged compounds are active with visible light, and can be photolysed even at 532 nm (green), enabling the use of simple and inexpensive equipment. These compounds are also active in the two-photon regime, a property that extends their scope to systems where IR light must be used to achieve high precision and penetrability. The state of the art and the future of ruthenium polypyridyl phototriggers are discussed, and several new applications are presented.
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