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Light‐Controlled Tools
Author(s) -
Brieke Clara,
Rohrbach Falk,
Gottschalk Alexander,
Mayer Günter,
Heckel Alexander
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201202134
Subject(s) - computer science , key (lock) , focus (optics) , process (computing) , ideal (ethics) , living systems , data science , human–computer interaction , artificial intelligence , computer security , epistemology , physics , programming language , philosophy , optics
Spatial and temporal control over chemical and biological processes plays a key role in life, where the whole is often much more than the sum of its parts. Quite trivially, the molecules of a cell do not form a living system if they are only arranged in a random fashion. If we want to understand these relationships and especially the problems arising from malfunction, tools are necessary that allow us to design sophisticated experiments that address these questions. Highly valuable in this respect are external triggers that enable us to precisely determine where, when, and to what extent a process is started or stopped. Light is an ideal external trigger: It is highly selective and if applied correctly also harmless. It can be generated and manipulated with well‐established techniques, and many ways exist to apply light to living systems—from cells to higher organisms. This Review will focus on developments over the last six years and includes discussions on the underlying technologies as well as their applications.