Swallowtail bacteriochlorins.: Lipophilic absorbers for the near-infrared

Bacteriochlorins absorb strongly in the near-infrared spectral region and hence are ideally suited for diverse photomedical applications, yet naturally occurring bacteriochlorins have limited stability and synthetic malleability. A de novo route has been exploited to prepare synthetic bacteriochlorins that bear a geminal dimethyl group in each pyrroline ring for stability and a symmetrically branched 1,5-dimethoxypentyl group attached to each pyrrole ring for solubility in lipophilic media.