ArticleNature methods2012
Rapid optical control of nociception with an ion-channel photoswitch.
Article in Nature methods, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 173 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multimodal Photoswitchable Modulation of Insect Glutamatergic Transmission by Quaternary Ammonium Azobenzenes.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Regulation of Calcium Ion Channels with Conjugated Molecules for Modulating Biological Functions.ACS central science · 2025Review
- Photoisomerization of Azobenzene-Extended Charybdotoxin for the Optical Control of KAngewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2025Article
- Structure-Property Relationships in Novel Series of Photoswitchable Local Anesthetic Ethercaine Derivatives: Emphasis on Biological and Photophysical Properties.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Deuteration as a General Strategy to Enhance Azobenzene-Based Photopharmacology.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2024Article
- Article
- Looking for a Beam of Light to Heal Chronic Pain.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Light-Sensitive Open Channel Block of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors by Quaternary Ammonium Azobenzene Derivatives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Photoswitchable Inhibitors to Optically Control Specific Kinase Activity.ACS chemical biology · 2023Article
- Effect of stacking interactions on charge transfer states in photoswitches interacting with ion channels.Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP · 2023Article
- A photoswitchable inhibitor of TREK channels controls pain in wild-type intact freely moving animals.Nature communications · 2023Article
- The Development and Application of Opto-Chemical Tools in the Zebrafish.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- A Novel Photoswitchable Azobenzene-Containing Local Anesthetic Ethercaine with Light-Controlled Biological Activity In Vivo.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Polarization-sensitive optoionic membranes from chiral plasmonic nanoparticles.Nature nanotechnology · 2022Article
- In vivo spatiotemporal control of voltage-gated ion channels by using photoactivatable peptidic toxins.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Deciphering Molecular Mechanisms and Intervening in Physiological and Pathophysiological Processes of CaCells · 2021Review
- A fine-tuned azobenzene for enhanced photopharmacology in vivo.Cell chemical biology · 2021Article
- Molecular photoswitches in aqueous environments.Chemical Society reviews · 2021Review
- Optical Assessment of Nociceptive TRP Channel Function at the Peripheral Nerve Terminal.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Local anesthetics effectively suppress pain sensation, but most of these compounds act nonselectively, inhibiting activity of all neurons. Moreover, their actions abate slowly, preventing precise spatial and temporal control of nociception. We developed a photoisomerizable molecule, quaternary ammonium-azobenzene-quaternary ammonium (QAQ), that enables rapid and selective optical control of nociception. QAQ is membrane-impermeant and has no effect on most cells, but it infiltrates pain-sensing neurons through endogenous ion channels that are activated by noxious stimuli, primarily TRPV1. After QAQ accumulates intracellularly, it blocks voltage-gated ion channels in the trans form but not the cis form. QAQ enables reversible optical silencing of mouse nociceptive neuron firing without exogenous gene expression and can serve as a light-sensitive analgesic in rats in vivo. Because intracellular QAQ accumulation is a consequence of nociceptive ion-channel activity, QAQ-mediated photosensitization is a platform for understanding signaling mechanisms in acute and chronic pain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.