STEADY-STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF PHOTODYNAMIC SENSITIZERS - PORPHYRINS AND PHTHALOCYANINES

The data presented in this review indicate that it is now possible to provide a sufficiently precise description of the main photophysical steps involved in the photoprocesses of biological compounds sensitized by at least some porphyrins and phthalocyanines. The photosensitizing action of these dyes may be made very efficient, provided the experimental conditions are adequately chosen and controlled. Lipoproteins appear to be a challenging substrate, since they represent a two-phase model (apoprotein plus lipid vesicle), where factors such as polarity, fluidity and electric charge of the lipid moiety may be modulated by using lipoproteins reconstituted through the reactions of the apoprotein with liposomes of different size and chemical composition.