The properties of a recently synthesized photolabile chelator for divalent cations are described, the affinty of which for Ca2+ changes by some 5 orders of magnitude on illumination. The compound 1-(2-nitro-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N,N,N',N'-tetrakis [(oxycarbonyl) 5). To study the kinetic, regulatory, and structural mechanisms involved in many of these processes, it would be desirable to be able to alter rapidly the divalent cation concentration with a minimal perturbation in the system being studied. This report describes a photochemical approach to the problem of rapidly increasing free divalent cation concentrations in which brief pulses of light trigger an increase in free [M2+]. The approach we have used is based on our earlier studies demonstrating the utility of a photolabile precursor of ATP, caged ATP, which on photolysis with UV light rapidly released free ATP (6). This work led to the application of the photorelease approach to the study ofthe mechanism ofa wide range of ATP-dependent processes, including the ion-transporting ATPases (7-12) and muscle contraction (13,14), and it has been used for time-resolved structural studies of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2`pump (15) (Fig. 1). Similar principles were used in the present work in which an EDTA molecule, bearing a 2-nitrophenyl moiety on the carbon skeleton, has been synthesized (22), which we anticipated would be photolabile. Our rationale was that the tetraacetic acid molecule (see Fig. 6) with a high affinity for Ca2 + (and/or Mg2 +) ions would photocleave to produce two diacetic acid molecules. Since iminodiacetic acid is known to have a much lower affinity for Ca2 + than does EDTA, the free [Ca2 +] in solution would thus be increased after photocleavage. The present paper describes the properties of such a compound, representative of a series we have synthesized, which fulfills these expectations and promises to be of considerable use in the study of divalent cation-dependent processes. METHODS Synthetic and Analytical. The compound on which this paper focuses was synthesized by reaction of excess iminodiacetic acid diethyl ester with 1-(2-nitro4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl 1,2-dibromide (22). The tetraethyl ester product was then hydrolyzed to yield 1- (2-nitro-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N,N,N' ,N'-tetrakis[(oxycarbonyl)