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Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Design, Synthesis, and Photochemical Properties of Clickable Caged Compounds
Published on: October 15, 2019
Photorelease of Incarcerated Caged Acids from Hydrophobic Coumaryl Esters into Aqueous Solution
Nareshbabu Kamatham1, Débora C Mendes2, José P Da Silva2
1Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , Coral Gables, Florida 33124, United States.
Abstract:
Photolysis of aqueous solutions of carboxylic acid esters of 7-(methoxycoumaryl)-4-methanol included within the capsule made up of two molecules of octaacid released the acids in water. The trigger 7-(methoxycoumaryl)-4-methyl chromophore remains within octaacid either as the alcohol or as an adduct with the host octaacid through a hydrogen abstraction process. The method established here offers a procedure to release hydrophobic acid molecules in water at will in a timely manner with light. In addition, the system offers an unanticipated opportunity to probe the mechanistic dichotomy of a diradicaloid intermediate expressing both radical and ionic behavior when generated by coumarylmethyl ester photolysis in a hydrophobic environment.
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