Photolabile protecting groups for an acetylcholine receptor ligand. Synthesis and photochemistry of a new class of o-nitrobenzyl derivatives and their effects on receptor function.

Two compounds have been synthesized that feature a photosensitive o-nitrobenzyl moiety attached directly to the carbamate nitrogen of carbamoylcholine. The well-characterized acetylcholine analogue, carbamoylcholine, was released from these derivatives in response to laser light pulses at wavelengths between 300 and 355 nm. Photolysis products were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography and identified by chemical and spectroscopic analysis. The yield of carbamoylcholine molecules per photon absorbed was 0.25. A short-lived photochromic intermediate in the photolysis reaction was detected by laser flash photolysis. A single laser flash induced an instantaneous increase in absorbance at 406 nm, followed by a first-order decay to products, with a half-time of 0.07 ms for one of the compounds [N-[1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethyl]carbamoylcholine iodide] in aqueous buffers at pH 7 and 23 degrees C. Decay rates and quantum yields depended on the nature of the substituent on the protecting group. Evidence is presented in support of the conclusion that the transient species is an aci-nitro intermediate that decays directly to carbamoylcholine and therefore determines its rate of release. The photosensitive carbamoylcholine derivatives activated the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor only after photolysis, as determined by 86Rb+ flux measurements with membrane vesicles prepared from Torpedo californica and Electrophorus electricus. Before photolysis, the compounds interacted weakly with the acetylcholine-binding sites as shown by competitive inhibition of acetylcholine-stimulated flux at high concentrations. The compounds did not induce receptor desensitization at a significant rate. The new compounds afford several major advantages over other photoactivatable acetylcholine analogues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)