Computational design of an improved photoswitchable psychedelic based on light absorption, membrane permeation and protein binding.
Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP September 18, 2025 Vito F Palmisano, Claudio Agnorelli, Shirin Faraji et al.
A new photoswitchable compound, PQ-azo-N,N-DMT, was computationally designed to improve upon an earlier version. It binds tightly to the 5-HT2A receptor, maintains key interactions similar to LSD, shows good membrane permeability, and absorbs red-shifted light for visible-spectrum photocontrol. This offers precise spatio-temporal control over receptor activation, which could help clarify the role of hallucinatory effects in antidepressant drug development.