Boron dipyrrin-porphyrin conjugates

Porphyrin/metalloporphyrin derivatives are a class of chromophores possessing favorable optical and redox properties for variety of applications ranging from materials to medicine. However, one drawback of porphyrin derivatives is their relatively poor absorption in the blue-green region of the spectrum (450-550 nm). One of the approaches for improving the absorption properties of porphyrin derivatives in blue-green region is their linking with chromophores that are capable of strongly absorbing in that region. Boron-dipyrrins (BODIPYs) are highly fluorescent dyes which absorb strongly in blue-green region and possess complementary properties with porphyrins. In recent times, covalently and non-covalently linked BODIPY-porphyrin conjugates on their own and in association with other moieties such as fullerenes received lot of attention because of their use for various applications. Several synthetic strategies have been developed to synthesize simple BODIPY-porphyrin conjugates to complex photonic wires and gates. This review describes synthesis, properties and potential applications of covalently and non-covalently linked conjugates containing only BODIPY and porphyrin units as well as conjugates containing BODIPY, porphyrin and other groups such as fullerenes. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.