meso-Methylhydroxy BODIPY: a scaffold for photo-labile protecting groups.

Here, we show that by installing a meso-methylhydroxy moiety, the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) scaffold can be converted into an efficient caging group, removable by green light. We describe caging and uncaging of important chemical functionalities and demonstrate green light mediated control over biological processes in cultured cell lines and neurons.