The structural, coordinative, photochemical and electrochemical properties of the porphyrin macrocycle that make them the functional element of choice in ubiquitous biological systems, e.g., chlorophyll, cytochrome P450 and hemoglobin, also contribute to making porphyrins and metalloporphyrins desirable in a "bottom-up" approach to the construction of nanosized devices. This paper highlights so...

The electronic structure and photophysical properties of (C=C)TTP(2+) (TTP = tetra-p-tolylporphyrin) were scrutinized by using quantum mechanical calculations and transient absorption spectroscopic measurements. When compared to a metalloporphyrin, the presence of the C=C unit in (C=C)TTP(2+) causes a splitting of the degenerate LUMO and a large decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap, while the 2+ charg...

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The etioplast fraction prepared from dark-grown barley contained the enzyme ferrochelatase. A mitochondrial fraction prepared from the same dark-grown tissue also contained ferrochelatase. After density-gradient centrifugation an etioplast band was collected that was free from detectable mitochondrial marker enzymes and yet retained ferrochelatase activity. A membrane band that was enriched in ...

Introduction: To date, no imaging methodology exists which can image prostate cancer in vivo with sufficient sensitivity and specificity for diagnostic utility. As a consequence, urological surgeons and oncologists proceed with treatment strategies based on ‘blind’ biopsy tissue specimens and limited diagnostic evaluations using conventional MRI and ultrasound. In these experiments, we have inv...

Synthetic water-soluble porphyrins and their metalloporphyrin derivatives with Co(III), Cu(II), Ru(II) and Pt(II), containing various functional groups within the meso-positions of the porphyrin, were synthesised and evaluated as hypoxic agents, especially as cytotoxins and radiosensitisers. Cobalt complexes of the porphyrins containing positively charged methylpyridinium groups showed selectiv...