Self-Aggregation of Lipophilic Porphyrins in Reverse Micelles of Aerosol OT

The sequential structure of tripyridiniumylporphyrin pendants in water-soluble copolymers and their association behaviour with tetrasulfonatophenylporphyrin guests: UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra study

A novel cationic tripyridiniumylporphyrin monomer, 5-[4-[2-(acryloyloxy)ethoxy]phenyl]-l0,l5,20-tris(N-methyl-4-pyridiniumyl)porphyrinate zinc(ii) (ZnTrMPyP), was synthesized, and its self-aggregation in water was studied by UV-vis absorption. The monomer was copolymerized with acrylamide in water and DMSO, respectively, to prepare the water-soluble polymers P-W and P-D. The aggregation behaviour of the copolymers in aqueous solution was investigated by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra. The polymer P-D displayed very similar absorption and emission spectra to those of ZnTrMPyP in water, indicating that the polymer chains in P-D have no significant effect on the aggregate structure of ZnTrMPyP in aqueous media. In comparison, two new absorption bands appeared in the Q band range of polymer P-W and its fluorescence spectra red shifted and the fluorescence quantum yield decreased obviously. These characteristics remained unchanged even in a good solvent for the monomer, suggesting that a new aggregation structure for the porphyrin pendants fixed by the covalent bond was formed. According to the different dispersed states of the porphyrin monomer in water and DMSO, the porphyrin pendants should distribute randomly in the P-D polymer chains while having micro-blocky sequences in polymer P-W. The association behaviour between the copolymers and tetra(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin, TSPP, bearing opposite charged substituents were studied by absorption and emission Spectra and further analyzed by the Benesi–Hildebrand and the Stern–Volmer methods. The results showed that relatively discrete porphyrin pendants in P-D formed a 1 : 1 stoichiometric complex with TSPP and both static and dynamic mechanisms were active in this quenching process, while the tightly associated porphyrin pendants in P-W interacted with TSPP as an entirety and static quenching was dominant in this process. This observation was in accordance with their sequential structure. The polymer P-W has a wider absorption range and higher absorption intensity in the long wavelength region than the porphyrin monomer, which can more efficiently absorb light to accomplish light harvesting in water.

Water-soluble random and micro-blocky copolymers P(ZnTrMPyP-AM) were prepared and the porphyrin pendants on them associate with anionic porphyrins in different manner.

Preparation of novel porphyrin nanomaterials based on the pH-responsive shape evolution of porphyrin microspheres

The shapes and properties of self-assembled materials can be adjusted easily using environmental stimuli. Yet, the stimulus-triggered shape evolution of organic microspheres in aqueous solution has rarely been reported so far. Here, a novel type of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)-g-porphyrin microspheres (PAH-g-Por MPs) was prepared by a Schiff base reaction between 2-formyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (Por-CHO) and PAH doped in 3.5-μm CaCO3 microparticles, followed by template removal. The PAH-g-Por MPs had an average diameter of 2.5 μm and could be transformed into one-dimensional nanorods (NRs) and wormlike nanostructures (WSs) after being incubated for different times in pH 1-4 HCl solutions. The rate and degree of hydrolysis had a significant effect on the formation and morphologies of the nanorods. The NRs@pH1, NRs@pH2, and NRs@pH3 were all composed of the released Por-CHO and the unhydrolyzed PAH-g-Por because of the incomplete hydrolysis of the Schiff base. However, the WSs@pH4 were formed by a pure physical shape transformation, because they had the same composition as the PAH-g-Por MPs and the Schiff base bonds were not hydrolyzed. The self-assembled NRs and WSs exhibited good colloidal stability and could emit stable red fluorescence over a relatively long period of time.

Real-time analysis of porphyrin J-aggregation on a plant-esterase-functionalized surface using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring

The J-aggregation of meso-tetra (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine (TPPS4) on a plant-esterase-functionalized surface in a 1:1 v/v mixture of 0.05 M HCl/ethanol (pH ∼1.38) was analyzed in real time using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). Simultaneous changes in frequency (Δf) and energy dissipation (ΔD) correlated well with mass and structural changes during the sequential phases of slow nucleation, rapid aggregation, and equilibration in J-aggregation. The time-dependent mass adsorption could be quantitatively analyzed with a model, which integrated two simple equations obtained when the surface concentration of TPPS4 (Γ(TPPS4)) was below and above the critical aggregation surface concentration (CASC). This study provides a new view for the protein-induced J-aggregation process, which may be helpful for understanding the interactions of self-assembled nanostructures with biomolecules.

The small stones of Coimbra in the huge tetrapyrrolic chemistry building

Improvements over the Rothemund classical reaction methods have allowed the development of capacity to obtain a wide range of structures that were earlier unavailable. Performing the reaction in a mixed nitrobenzene/carboxylic acid medium allowed improvements of yield and purity of the porphyrin obtained, and in some cases the control of the oxidation level of the macrocycle. More recently, novel microwave synthetic methodologies were exploited to achieve important improvements in simple porphyrin chemistry. Tidy sulphonations of simple porphyrins opened the way to diverse desired, inexpensive structures in a very simple manner. The option to concentrate interests on improvements of synthetic methods to obtain simple and diversified tetrapyrrolic structures proved to be advantageous. Interesting biomimetic oxidation and photooxidation systems and PDT sensitizers were developed and significant knowledge was achieved in these specific and related areas. This review presents a view of our own results in the synthetic area, and outlines the contributions therefrom to the study of biomimetic and therapeutic processes.

Responsive porphyrinoid nanoparticles: development and applications

The economy of space and materials and the continuously increasing demand for advanced functionalities for diverse technologies requires the development of new synthetic methods. Many nanomaterials have enhanced photophysical and photochemical properties in solutions and/or on surfaces, while others have enhanced chemical properties, compared to the atomic, molecular, or bulk phases. Nanomaterials have a wide range of applications in catalysis, sensors, photonic devices, drug delivery, and as therapeutics for treatment of a variety of diseases. Inorganic nanoparticles are widely studied, but the formation of organic nanomaterials via supramolecular chemistry is more recent, and porphyrinoids are at the forefront of this research because of their optical, chemical, and structural properties. The formation of nanoscaled materials via self-assembly and/or self-organization of molecular subunits is an attractive approach because of reduced energy requirements, simpler molecular subunits, and the material can be adaptive to environmental changes. The presence of biocompatible groups such as peptides, carbohydrates, polyglycols and mixtures of these on the periphery of the porphyrin macrocycle may make nanoparticles suitable for therapeutics. This perspective focuses on responsive, non-crystalline porphyrinoid nanomaterials that are less than about 100 nm in all dimensions and used for catalytic or therapeutic applications.

Optical spectroscopy and photochemistry of porphyrins and phthalocyanines

Studies of excited singlet and triplet states of porphyrins and phthalocyanines in organized media of reverse micelles, vesicles, monolayers, and Langmuir-Blodgett films along with more complex supramolecular organizates with proteins and dendrimers, are reported. Self-assembly in these systems was followed by imaging and temporal fluorescence techniques.

Role of the medium on the C343 inter/intramolecular hydrogen bond interactions. An absorption, emission, and 1HNMR investigation of C343 in benzene/n-heptane mixtures

C343, a common molecular probe utilized in solvation dynamics experiments, was studied in homogeneous media. Absorption, emission, and (1)HNMR spectroscopies were used to investigate the behavior of C343 in benzene and in benzene/n-heptane mixtures. We demonstrate the implications of the medium polarity, measured as the Kamlet-Taft polarity-polarizability (pi*) parameter, in the C343 inter/intramolecular hydrogen bond (H-bond) interactions and the role that this interaction plays in the dimerization process of the dye. In pure benzene, the dimer prevails because the intermolecular H-bond interaction is favored. On the other hand, as the n-heptane content increases the intramolecular H-bond is the strongest and the C343 monomer is favored. As the polarity of the medium decreases, the solvophobic interaction makes that C343 monomer species experiences a more complicated aggregation process beyond the simple monomer dimer equilibrium present in pure benzene. Thus, the addition of n-heptane to the mixture yields a C343 higher-order aggregates species. Thus, our work reveals the importance that the medium has on the behavior of a widespread dye used as chromophore for very different systems such as homogeneous and microheterogenous media. This is very important since the use of chromophores without understanding its chemistry can induce artifacts into the interpretation of solvation dynamics in heterogeneous environments, in particular, those provided by biological systems such as proteins. Considerable care in choosing and characterizing the system is required to analyze the results fully.

Hybrid Junctions of Zinc(II) and Magnesium(II) Phthalocyanine with Wide-Band-Gap Semiconductor Nano-oxides: Spectroscopic and Photoelectrochemical Characterization

The optical properties of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnIIPc) and magnesium phthalocyanine (MgIIPc) in DMSO and DMF solutions have been extensively investigated, and the photoelectrochemical behaviors of layer-by-layer hybrid junctions formed of the two metallo(II) phthalocyanines (MIIPcs) and wide-band-gap colloidal semiconductors, namely, ZnO and TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs), have been probed. Different experimental conditions, such as the Pc center metal ion, dye concentration, and solvent identity, were investigated in order to elucidate their effects on the photoelectrochemical performances of the prepared heterojunctions. Finally, thermal treatment of either dye and NC films and control of the NC shape and surface chemistry were also studied and, interestingly, were found to be critical in affecting the performance of photochemical sensitization processes, occurring at the dye/oxide and oxide/solution interfaces.

A novel pH-controlled transfer process of 5,10,15-tri(4-hydroxyphenyl)-20-(4-hexadecyloxyphenyl) porphyrin in CTAB micelles

By analysis of the UV-visible and fluorescence spectra of 5,10,15-tri(4-hydroxyphenyl)-20-(4-hexadecyloxyphenyl)porphyrin (P) in different microenvironments of micelle and solvent solutions, a novel pH-controlled transfer process of P in CTAB micelle was reported. In neutral CTAB micelles, porphyrins may locate at the inner layers of micelles. With pH increases to 11.19, the porphyrin can be completely deprotonated and transfers to the outer surface of CTAB micelle. The investigation of kinetics of porphyrin complexing with Cu(II) indicates that the metallation rate of porphyrins in CTAB micelles could also be controlled by changing pH.

What Can You Learn from a Molecular Probe? New Insights on the Behavior of C343 in Homogeneous Solutions and AOT Reverse Micelles

The behavior of C343, a common molecular probe utilized in solvation dynamics experiments, was studied in homogeneous media and in aqueous and nonaqueous reverse micelles (RMs). In homogeneous media, the Kamlet and Taft solvatochromic comparison method quantified solute-solvent interactions from the absorption and emission bands showing that the solvatochromic behavior of the dye depends not only on the polarity of the medium but also on the hydrogen-bonding properties of the solvent. Specifically, in the ground state the molecule displays a bathochromic shift with the polarity polarizability (pi) and the H-bond acceptor (beta) ability of the solvents and a hypsochromic shift with the hydrogen donor ability (alpha) of the media. The carboxylic acid group causes C343 to display greater sensitivity to the beta than to the pi polarity parameter; this sensitivity increases in the excited state, while the dependence on alpha vanishes. This demonstrates that C343 forms a stable H-bond complex with solvents with high H-bond acceptor ability (high beta) and low H-bond donor character (low alpha). Spectroscopy in nonpolar solvents reveals J-aggregate formation. With information from the Kamlet-Taft analysis, C343 was used to explore RMs composed of water or polar solvents/sodium 1,4-bis-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane using absorption, emission, and time-resolved spectroscopies. Sequestered polar solvents included ethylene glycol (EG), formamide (FA), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA). Dissolved in the AOT RM systems at low concentration, C343 exists as a monomer, and when introduced to the RM samples in its protonated form, C343 remains protonated driving it to reside in the interface rather than the water pool. The solvathochromic behavior of the dye depends the specific polar solvent encapsulated in the RMs, revealing different types of interactions between the solvents and the surfactant. EG and water H-bond with the AOT sulfonate group destroying their bulk H-bonded structures. While water remains well segregated from the nonpolar regions, EG appears to penetrate into the oil side of the interface. In aqueous AOT RMs, C343 interacts with neither the sulfonate group nor the water, perhaps because of intramolecular H-bonding in the dye. DMF and DMA interact primarily through dipole-dipole forces, and the strong interactions with AOT sodium counterions destroy their bulk structure. FA also interacts with the Na+ counterions but retains its H-bond network present in bulk solvent. Surprisingly, FA appears to be the only polar solvent other than water forming a "polar-solvent pool" with macroscopic properties similar to the bulk.

Fluoride-selective optical sensor based on aluminum(III)-octaethylporphyrin in thin polymeric film: further characterization and practical application

More detailed analytical studies of a new fluoride-selective optical sensor based on the use of aluminum(III)-octaethylporphyrin and a lipophilic pH indicator (4',5'-dibromofluorescein octadecyl ester; ETH-7075) within a thin plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) film are reported. The sensor exhibits extraordinary optical selectivity for fluoride over a wide range of other anions, including anions with far more positive free energies of hydration (e.g., perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate, etc.). UV-visible spectrophotometric studies of the sensing films indicate that fluoride interacts with the Al(III) center of the porphyrin structure, yielding both a change in the Soret band lambda(max) of the porphyrin and a change in the protonation state of the pH indicator within the film. The same change in spectral properties of the metalloporphyrin occurs in the absence of added pH indicator or with added tetraphenylborate derivative anionic sites, but optical responses to fluoride in these cases are shown to be irreversible. The presence of the pH indicator and the simultaneous fluoride/proton coextraction equilibrium chemistry is shown to greatly enhance the reversibility of fluoride binding to the Al(III) porphyrin. Optical response toward fluoride can be observed in the range of 0.1 microM-1.6 mM. Optical selectivity coefficients of <10(-6) for common anions (e.g., sulfate, chloride, nitrate, etc.) and <10(-4) for perchlorate and thiocyanate are obtained. Measurements of fluoride in drinking water via the new optical sensor are shown to correlate well with values obtained for the same samples using a classical LaF3-based fluoride ion-selective electrode method.

Spectroscopic Studies of Water-Soluble Porphyrins with Protein Encapsulated in Bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) Reverse Micelles: Aggregation versus Complexation

We have investigated the interaction of two water-soluble free-base porphyrins (negatively charged meso-tetrakis(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin sodium salt (TSPP) and positively charged meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (TMpyP)) with two drug-carrier proteins (human serum albumin (HSA) and beta-lactoglobulin (betaLG)) in bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane/water reverse micelles (RM) by using steady-state and transient-state fluorescence spectroscopy. TSPP exhibited a complex pattern of aggregation on varying the RM size and pH in the absence of the protein: at low omega0 (the ratio of water concentration to AOT concentration, the emission of H-aggregates prevails under acidic or neutral "pH(ext)" conditions. Upon formation of the water-pool, J-aggregates and monomeric diacid species dominate at low "pH(ext)" but only monomer is detected at neutral "pH(ext)". The aggregation number increases with omega0 and the presence of the protein does not seem to contribute to further growth of the aggregate. The presence of protein leads to H-deaggregation but promotes J-aggregation up to a certain protein/porphyrin ratio above which, complexation with the monomer bound to a hydrophobic site of the protein prevails. The effective complex binding constants are smaller than in free aqueous solution; this indicates a weaker binding in these RM probably due to some conformational changes imposed by encapsulation. Only a weak quenching of TMpyP fluorescence is detected due to the presence of protein in contrast to the negative porphyrin.

Self-organization of a sulfonamido-porphyrin in Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett films

Langmuir monolayers (LM) and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of pure lipophilic meso-tetra(4-dodecylaminosulfophenyl)porphyrin (PC12) and mixed with the anionic surfactant sodium hexadecylsulfate (SHS) were studied. The molecular packing and structure of PC12 and PC12-4SHS with variable surface pressure were investigated by surface pressure-area measurements, steady-state absorption, fluorescence emission and anisotropy, as well as by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). At low surface pressure, the porphyrin molecules are organized with the rings tilted on the water surface whereas at high surface pressure the porphyrin rings achieve a more perpendicular arrangement. Using the FLIM images a gradual change of aggregates into large "islands" is observed. Different patterns are observed in the pure PC12 multilayer films (n = 3 and 5) with ordered patches superimposed which are not observed in the PC12-4SHS multilayer LB films.

Lipophilic porphyrin microparticles induced by AOT reverse micelles: a fluorescence lifetime imaging study

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) technique was applied to investigate the fluorescence dynamics and structural features of large colloidal aggregates of meso-tetra(N-dodecyl-4-amino sulfonyl-phenyl)porphyrin (PC12) induced by Sodium 1,4-bis(2-ethyl hexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelles. The aggregate's particle sizes (down to 1 microm) obtained from the confocal fluorescence images matched with the particle sizes measured in the images obtained from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The fluorescence decays for those aggregates in the micro spatial domain show triexponential fluorescence lifetimes (tau1 approximately 12 ns, tau2 approximately 3 ns and tau3 approximately 1 ns) which are independent of the aggregate's size.

Aggregation Behavior of Tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin in AOT/Water/Decane Microemulsions

AOT/water/decane microemulsions have been used to entrap the water-soluble 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS4). Quasi-elastic light scattering technique has confirmed the confinement of the porphyrin and its various aggregates into the inner water pool. Various species have been detected as function of the size of the microemulsions, concentration of the porphyrin, pH, and aging of the solutions by using a combination of UV-vis absorption, steady fluorescence emission, fluorescence lifetime measurements, and time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy. Under neutral pH conditions, the porphyrin is present as the free base monomer (S414) in the inner water compartment, and it is free to rotate when the size of the droplet is large enough and the porphyrin concentration is low. On increasing the concentration and/or decreasing the microemulsion size, a H-dimer of the free base (S406) is prevalently formed. Aging both the S414 and S406 species leads to the formation of a new species (S424), which has been postulated as a H-type dimer of the diacid porphyrin. On decreasing the pH, the species S414 and S406 almost instantaneously convert into the diacid porphyrin, which is monomeric (S434). This latter is an intermediate in the eventual formation of J-aggregated TPPS4 (S490). A marked stability has been observed for the S424 species, which do not interconvert on changing the pH of the bulk aqueous phase.

The synthesis and properties of bis-1,1′-(porphyrinyl)ferrocenes

Ferrocene-bridged bisporphyrins have been synthesized by the condensation of corresponding dipyrromethane-derived diols with a bisdipyrromethane. Purification of the final compounds has been achieved without chromatography. The specific geometry of these bisporphyrins makes them valuable starting points for building complex molecular and supramolecular structures. In particular it provides a core to which multiple sites of attractive intermolecular interactions can be attached thereby creating compounds predisposed to form complex networks by association. We have studied the structure of bis-1,1'-(porphyrinyl)ferrocenes by 1H NMR, UV-Vis and electrochemistry. Results have shown that complex dynamic processes occur in these molecules (which may involve conformers, formation of H-aggregates and tautomers) and that they have non-typical electrochemical behaviour.