Significant developments in the construction of oligoporphyrins and oligometalloporphyrins supply a large variety of new interesting compounds with potential use in electron and energy transfer. Their physicochemical properties depend primarily on the nature of the linkage between porphyrin building blocks, In this review we have focused on the expanding role of the coordination bond in creation of polyporphyrin architecture. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.