Sensitive to oxygen: Phosphorescent iridium(III) porphyrin complexes, new tunable oxygen indicators

(PhysOrg.com) -- Monitoring the amount of oxygen in living tissues accurately is a valuable tool in biomedical science, because it enables the elucidation of the course of metabolic processes or the detection of diseases or anomalies. Metal complexes that absorb and emit light are useful as sensors, and metal complexes of porphyrins and their derivatives are especially good candidates for such applications, as the porphyrin macrocycle can easily be modified.