%0 Journal Article
%T Optical Control of a Delayed Rectifier and a Two-Pore Potassium Channel with a Photoswitchable Bupivacaine
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00279
%X Photoswitchable blockers of potassium channels can be used to optically control neuronal excitability and hold great promise for vision restoration. Here, we report a series of improved photoswitchable blockers that are furnished with a new pharmacophore based on the local anesthetic bupivacaine. These azobupivacaines (ABs) enable optical control over the delayed rectifier channel Kv2.1. and target the two-pore domain potassium channel TREK-1. For the first time, we have identified a compound that blocks conductance in the dark and potentiates it upon illumination. Using light as a trigger, ABs efficiently and reversibly silence action potential firing of hippocampal neurons in acute mouse brain slices
%U https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00279