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Updated: Jul 1, 2026

Spatial and Temporal Control of T Cell Activation Using a Photoactivatable Agonist
Published on: April 25, 2018
Transient Activation Windows Program Adaptive Photochemical Responses
Jinghong Dai1, Zhiwei Zhang1, Wenhui Wang1
1Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai, P. R. China.
None:
Biological systems regulate photochemical functions through transient activation states that determine when a stimulus can produce a response. Inspired by this principle, we develop a temporally gated molecular platform in which dynamic pH evolution controls visible-light photochemistry. The system integrates a proton-responsive charge-transfer complex (CTC) sensitizer and a diarylethene photoswitch. Reversible protonation of the CTC enables chemical gating of triplet-sensitized photochromism, which further generates a transient activation window via coupling with a dissipative, pH-regulation network. As a result, identical optical stimuli lead to distinct outcomes depending on when they are applied during chemical evolution, effectively promoting chemical gating to temporal gating of molecular photoswitch. The progressive modulation of the sensitizer induces a time-dependent attenuation of photochemical responses, enabling adaptive behaviors reminiscent of visual fatigue in biological photo-reception.
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