Photoclick and Release: Co-activation of Carbon Monoxide and a Fluorescent Self-reporter, COS or Sulfonamide with Fast Kinetics

Bioorthogonal prodrugs with both fast reaction kinetics and multiple outputs are highly desirable but are only found sporadically. Herein, we report a novel photoclick-and-release strategy for the co-activation of carbon monoxide and a self-reporter, carbonyl sulfide, or sulfonamide with fast reaction kinetics (k: 1.4–22.6 M⁻¹ s⁻¹). Such a photoclick-and-release strategy was successfully applied in live cells to deliver carbon monoxide and a fluorescent self-reporter, both of which exhibited pronounced antiproliferative activity against 4T1 cancer cells. It is conceivable that this photoclick-and-release strategy could find applications in other fields, in which a controlled bond cleavage is preferred.