Visible light-mediated photocatalysis is a powerful strategy in organic chemistry, enabling novel synthetic transformations. As photocatalysis is often performed under mild conditions and is compatible with water, it holds great potential for chemically manipulating biological systems. Our lab aims to develop new technologies that will enable photocatalysis inside living cells. Such chemical tools will provide invaluable information about Biology.

Photocatalysis requires a catalyst, usually a metal complex or an organic small-molecule dye. Such a catalyst does not naturally exist inside cells and needs to be provided exogenously, a demand that traditionally limits the applicability of photochemistry in vivo. 

We asked ourselves – Can we use proteins, which are genetically encoded, as endogenous photocatalysts?

The answer is yes!

We recently developed LITag (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2219339120), which relies on genetically encoded photocatalysts to achieve photo-proximity labeling. This method is used to study protein-protein interactions in living cells. We continue to design photo-proximity labeling tools that will deepen our understanding of protein-protein interaction regulation in various biological processes. In addition, we use our unique in vivo photochemistry approach to accomplish new chemical transformations in living cells.

Stay Tuned!