DIRECT DETECTION OF SINGLET OXYGEN SENSITIZED BY HAEMATOPORPHYRIN AND RELATED COMPOUNDS

Abstract— Direct time‐resolved detection of the luminescence at 1270 nm from ‘singlet oxygen’ was used to estimate the quantum yield of singlet oxygen production (Φ Δ ) from a series of related porphyrins in benzene and in D 2 O. From this and available data the fraction of oxygen quenching interactions leading to singlet oxygen production (S Δ ) was derived in most cases. A marked increase in Φ Δ value was observed for di‐haematoporphyrin ester (DHE) in cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide/D 2 O solution in comparison to D 2 O alone, this increase is attributed to a major structural alteration of DHE on introduction of the detergent.