Control of the Structure and Functions of Biomaterials by Light

Vision and other light-triggered biochemical transformations in plants and living organisms represent a sophisticated biological processes in which optical signals are recorded and transduced as (physico)chemical events. Photoswitchable biomaterials are a new class of substances in which optical signals generate discrete “On” and “Off” states of biological functions, resembling logic gates that flip between 0 and 1 states in response to the changes in electric currents in computers. The (photo)chemistry of photochromic materials has been extensively developed in the past four decades. These materials isomerize reversibly upon light absorption, and the discrete photoisomeric states exhibit distinct spectral and chemical features. Integration of photoisomerizable (or photochromic) units into biomaterials allow their secondary functions such as biocatalysis, binding, and electron transfer to be tailored so that they can be switched on or off. This can be accomplished by chemical modification of the biomaterial by photoisomerizable units and by integration of biomaterials in photoisomerizable microenvironments such as monolayers or polymers. The photoswitchable properties of chemically modified biomaterials originate from the light-induced generation or perturbation of the biologically active site, whereas in photoisomerizable matrices they depend upon the regulation of the physical or chemical features of the photoisomerizable assemblies of polymers, monolayers, or membranes. Light-triggered activation of catalytic biomaterials provides a means of amplifying the recorded optical signal by biochemical transformations, and photostimulated biochemical redox switches allow its electrochemical transduction and amplification. The field of photoswitches based on biomaterials has developed extensively in the past few years within the general context of molecular switching devices and micromachinery. The extensive knowledge on the manipulation of biomaterials through genetic engineering and the fabrication of surfaces modified by biologically active materials enables us to prepare biomaterials with improved optical-switching features. Their application in optoelectronic or bioelectronic devices has been transformed from fantasy to reality. The use of photoswitchable biomaterials in information storage and processing devices (biocomputers), sensors, reversible immunosensors, and biological amplifiers of optical signals has already been demonstrated, but still leaves important future challenges.