1.
Chem Sci
; 7(5): 3331-3337, 2016 May 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29997826
ABSTRACT
A series of porphyrin-fullerene linked molecules has been synthesized to evaluate the effects of substituents and molecular structures on their charge-separation yield and the lifetime of a final charge-separated state in various hydrophilic environments. The selected high-performance molecule effectively achieved depolarization in a plasma cell membrane by visible light as well as two-photon excitation using a near-infrared light laser. Moreover, it was revealed that the depolarization can trigger neuronal firing in rat hippocampal neurons, demonstrating the potential and versatility for controlling cell functions using light.