• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2003

A review of the background and development of the p-hydroxyphenacyl group (pHP) as a photoprotecting group for biological substrates is chronicled. The pHP group has promise as an efficient, rapid phototrigger for the study of very fast biological processes. Applications include the release of neurotransmittors and second messengers, enzyme switches and nucleotides.