Design of Soluble Compounds for Optical Control of Tetrameric P-Loop Ion Channels

The photopharmacology of ion channels is a rapidly developingarea. One reason for paying special attention to the design of photoswitchableligands for ion channels is that the channels control fast neurophysiologicalprocesses, and their ability to be rapidly and locally modulatedby light is very important. In the photopharmacology of ion channels,existing drugs are usually employed to design photochromic analogsthrough the incorporation of a photochromic moiety. At present,photochromic compounds are designed for many channels belong tothe superfamily of so-called P-loop channels. Photoswitchable drugsdiffer in their activities, photosensitivity, selectivity, and mechanismsof action. This paper provides an overview of the available compoundsand the design of their structures.