A double bond-conjugated dimethylnitrobenzene-type photolabile nitric oxide donor with improved two-photon cross section.

Photocontrollable NO donors enable precise spatiotemporal release of NO under physiological conditions. We designed and synthesized a novel dimethylnitrobenzene-type NO donor, Flu-DNB-DB, which contains a carbon-carbon double bond in place of the amide bond of previously reported Flu-DNB. Flu-DNB-DB releases NO in response to one-photon activation in the blue wavelength region, and shows a greatly increased two-photon cross-section (δu) at 720 nm (Flu-DNB: 0.12 GM, Flu-DNB-DB: 0.98 GM). We show that Flu-DNB-DB enables precisely controlled intracellular release of NO in response to 950 nm pulse laser irradiation for as little as 1s. This near-infrared-light-controllable NO source should be a valuable tool for studies on the biological roles of NO.