Corrole dimers: synthetic, spectroscopic and antimicrobial activity studies

Corroles 1 (Fig. 1) are aromatic contracted tetrapyrrolic macrocycles with unique physicochemical features . These compounds possess key photophysical/photochemical properties as high excitation molar coefficients, fluorescence quantum yields, phosphorescence and photostability to be used in several therapeutic applications namely as photosensitizers in PhotoDynamic Therapy (PDT) . One of the main advantages of these macrocycles is their large delocalized π-electronic conjugation and their stability under the PDT conditions. Additionally, conjugated macrocycles corrole-based 2 (Fig. 1) demonstrated that their absorption spectra fall within the therapeutic window of 600–800 nm which make them promising candidates to be used as photosensitizers. In this context, it will be discussed a simple and peculiar alternative to the synthesis of corrole 2b (Fig.1), as well as their structural and optical characterization. The antimicrobial activity studies, namely dark toxicity and photoactivity under irradiation using the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus will also be presented.