Push–Pull Stilbene: Visible Light Activated Photoremovable Protecting Group for Alcohols and Carboxylic Acids with Fluorescence Reporting Employed for Drug Delivery

For the first time we have utilized push–pull stilbene as a visible light activated photoremovable protecting group (PRPG) for the uncaging of alcohols and carboxylic acids. The PRPG efficiently release caged molecules with good photochemical quantum yield. It is capable of monitoring the release in real time owing to its fluorescence “turn on” phenomenon upon photorelease in polar medium. The efficient photorelease and real time monitoring abilities of push–pull stilbene were employed for in vitro drug delivery.