{"doi":"10.1101/2022.06.10.495373","title":"Optical Control of Neuronal Activities with Photoswitchable Nanovesicles","abstract":"ABSTRACT Precise modulation of neuronal activity by neuroactive molecules is essential for understanding brain circuits and behavior. However, tools for highly controllable molecular release are lacking. Here, we developed a photoswitchable nanovesicle with azobenzene-containing phosphatidylcholine (azo-PC), coined ‘azosome’, for neuromodulation. Irradiation with 365 nm light triggers the trans -to- cis isomerization of azo-PC, resulting in a disordered lipid bilayer with decreased thickness and cargo release. Irradiation with 455 nm light induces reverse isomerization and switches the release off. Real-time fluorescence imaging shows controllable and repeatable cargo release within seconds (&lt; 3 s). Importantly, we demonstrate that SKF-81297, a dopamine D1-receptor agonist, can be released from the azosome to activate cultures of primary striatal neurons. Azosome shows promise in precise optical control over the molecular release and can be a valuable tool for molecular neuroscience studies.","journal":"bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)","year":2022,"id":301403,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":2,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9474,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2022-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":830924,"name":"Kevin Alberto","orcid":"0000-0002-1636-0524","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":597487,"name":"Jonghae Youn","orcid":"0000-0001-6267-4359","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":902406,"name":"Jaume Taura","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":166214,"name":"Johannes Morstein","orcid":"0000-0002-6940-288X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":350137,"name":"Xiuying Li","orcid":"0000-0003-2686-1426","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":544074,"name":"Yang Wang","orcid":"0000-0002-5504-9800","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":166216,"name":"Dirk Trauner","orcid":"0000-0002-6782-6056","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":244535,"name":"Paul A. Slesinger","orcid":"0000-0002-3868-7528","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":588176,"name":"Steven O. Nielsen","orcid":"0000-0003-3390-3313","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":282340,"name":"Zhenpeng Qin","orcid":"0000-0003-3406-3045","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":350136,"name":"Hejian Xiong","orcid":"0000-0002-5265-9208","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":50,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T00:32:02.193874Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}