Porphyrins—valuable pigments of life

Abstract

Porphyrin complexes are present in many natural systems and have significant biological roles, such as light harvesting, oxygen transport, and catalysis. Owing to their intrinsic aromatic structure, porphyrin derivatives exhibit characteristic photophysical and electrochemical properties. Porphyrins and porphyrin-based derivatives have been extensively utilized in biomedical applications during the last decade. Specifically, porphyrinoids have been tested as agents in antimicrobial and photodynamic therapy, as well as in imaging applications (e.g., diagnosis of cancer cells). This perspective article summarizes the recent developments in our group concerning the application of porphyrin derivatives in biomedical applications. The current challenges and future prospects concerning the exploitation of porphyrin-based materials in biomedical applications are also discussed.

Anti-Inflammatory and Antithrombotic Potential of Metal-Based Complexes and Porphyrins

“…Porphyrin-based compounds demonstrate a wide range of bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic effects, along with associated health-promoting properties, such as antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects, and can be used as molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents [14]. Such diverse pharmacological activities underscore the versatility and potential therapeutic utility of porphyrin compounds across various medical conditions.…”

“…In other words, the antiplatelet potency, better expressed as anti-PAF activity, of any substance can be exerted by inhibiting the PAFinduced aggregation in washed rabbit/human platelets (WRPs and hWPs respectively), and rabbit/human platelet reach plasma (rPRP and hPRP, respectively) [8]. Towards this goal, several compounds with antiplatelet potencies and a more general anti-PAF activity have been studied [10][11][12][13], among which some metal-based compounds bear natural bioactive properties as ligands, while others bear some porphyrin derivatives that also pose as attractive bioactive alternative ligand metal complexes [14]. Thus, apart from the classic organic compounds against inflammation and thrombosis, several "metal-based inflammatory mediators," have also been developed that are able to successfully encounter all of these thrombo-inflammatory pathways [15].…”