Design of oligothiophene-based tetrazoles for laser-triggered photoclick chemistry in living cells

A 405 nm light-activatable terthiophene-based tetrazole was designed that reacts with a fumarate dipolarophile with the second-order rate constant k(2) exceeding 10(3) M-1 s(-1). The utility of this laser-activatable tetrazole in imaging microtubules in a spatiotemporally controlled manner in live cells was demonstrated.