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

Abstract 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.