Supramolecular macrocycles based on porphyrins- correlation of molecular structure and biological photoactivity

Porphyrins and phthalocyanines are organic dyes which can be used as highly fluorescent species in laser technology, in photography, as radiation power indicators, as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy of cancerous disease. Porphyrins constitute a class of the molecules which contain four pyrrole rings linked by the methane carbon bridges whereas the phthalocyanine molecules are composed of four indole units - pyrrole rings linked by nitrogen atoms conjugated with benzene rings. A large group of porphyrins and phthalocyanines can be chemically modified by introducing metal in the center of the pyrrole rings or by attaching the peripheral groups to the outer rings of the methane bridges or isoindole units, respectively. In this study five groups of tetraphenylporphyrins (TPP) and phthalocyanines (Pc) were investigated: - metal (Me)-free dyes without any substitutes, - non-substituted porphyrins and phthalocyanines but complexed with metal (Me) - Zn, Mg, Mn, Co, Cu, Pt, Pd, Pb and others, - metal-complexed dyes substituted with aromatic rings, - metal-complexed dyes substituted with fluorines, - metal-complexed dyes substituted with long organic chains (alkyl or alkyloxy). The difference in the TPP and Pc molecular structure, the kind of metal incorporated into the main molecular core or the variation in the peripheral groups attached to the molecular skeleton are expected to affect the effectiveness of dyes in photocurrent generation. Since there is a competition between the charge separation process and other deactivation processes in the molecule, in our study photochemical investigations (photodynamic action) are usually accompanied with the spectroscopic examinations (absorption, fluorescence- which give information on the (non-) radiative processes) of dyes. In the paper we have presented the review of our study on the correlation between the molecular structure of dyes and their photoactive properties. (authors)