The porphyrins and their closely related molecules are essential to all plants and animals. An iron porphyrin, called heme, is the portion of hemoglobin that carries oxygen from the lungs to our body's cells. The heme of another protein, myoglobin,...

A porphyrin is a heterocyclic macrocycle derived from four pyrroline subunits interconnected via their α carbon atoms via methine bridges (=CH-). The macrocycle, therefore, is a highly-conjugated system, and, as a consequence, is deeply coloured - the...

'Why grasse is greene, or why our blood is red are mysteries which none have reached unto' mused John Donne in 'Of the Progresse of the Soule' in 1612. The question is readily resolved now modern science has reached into the mysteries of...

Summary This review summarizes recent developments in the area of porphyrin chemistry in the direction of biological applications. Novel synthetic methodologies are reviewed for porphyrin synthesis, porphyrin analog synthesis, stable porphyrinogens - calixpyrroles, expanded porphyrins. Unique biological properties of those compounds are desribed...