Porphyrins and related families of molecules are important organic modules as has been reflected in the award of the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry in 1915, 1930, 1961, 1962, 1965, and 1988 for work on porphyrin-related biological functionalities. The porphyrin core can be synthetically modified by introduction of various functional groups and other elements, allowing creation of numerous types of porphyrin derivatives. This feature makes porphyrins extremely useful molecules especially in combination with their other interesting photonic, electronic and magnetic properties, which in turn is reflected in their diverse signal input-output functionalities based on interactions with other molecules and external stimuli. Therefore, porphyrins and related macrocycles play a preeminent role in sensing applications involving chromophores. In this review, we discuss recent developments in porphyrin-based sensing applications in conjunction with the new advanced concept of nanoarchitectonics, which creates functional nanostructures based on a profound understanding of mutual interactions between the individual nanostructures and their arbitrary arrangements. Following a brief explanation of the basics of porphyrin chemistry and physics, recent examples in the corresponding fields are discussed according to a classification based on physical modes of detection including optical detection (absorption/photoluminescence spectroscopy and energy and electron transfer processes), other spectral modes (circular dichroism, plasmon and nuclear magnetic resonance), electronic and electrochemical modes, and other sensing modes.

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A highly aligned 1D fullerene whisker (FW) scaffold in a centimeter area is fabricated by interfacial alignment. The resulting aligned FW scaffold enables concurrent control over cellular orientation and differentiation to muscle cells. This aligned FW scaffold is made by a facile method, and hence the substrate is a promising alternative to other cell scaffolds for tissue engineering.

We report the preparation of hierarchically structured fullerene C70 cubes (HFC) composed of mesoporous C70 nanorods with crystalline pore walls. Highly crystalline cubic shape C70 crystals (FC) were grown at a liquid-liquid interface formed between tert-butyl alcohol and C70 solution in mesitylene. HFCs were then prepared by washing with isopropanol of the FC at 25 °C. The growth directions and diameters of C70 nanorods could be controlled by varying washing conditions. HFCs perform as an excellent sensing system for vapor-phase aromatic solvents due to their easy diffusion through the mesoporous architecture and strong π-π interactions with the sp(2) carbon-rich pore walls. Moreover, HFCs offer an enhanced electrochemically active surface area resulting in an energy storage capacity 1 order of magnitude greater than pristine C70 and fullerene C70 cubes not containing mesoporous nanorods.

A versatile method for the rapid fabrication of aligned fullerene C60 nanowhiskers (C60NWs) at the air-water interface is presented. This method is based on the vortex motion of a subphase (water), which directs floating C60NWs to align on the water surface according to the direction of rotational flow. Aligned C60NWs could be transferred onto many different flat substrates, and, in this case, aligned C60NWs on glass substrates were employed as a scaffold for cell culture. Bone forming human osteoblast MG63 cells adhered well to the C60NWs, and their growth was found to be oriented with the axis of the aligned C60NWs. Cells grown on aligned C60NWs were more highly oriented with the axis of alignment than when grown on randomly oriented nanowhiskers. A study of cell proliferation on the C60NWs revealed their low toxicity, indicating their potential for use in biomedical applications.

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in by the editorial staff)) Revised: ((will be filled in by the editorial staff)) Published online: ((will be filled in by the editorial staff)) An adaptive dynamic system is engineered from a protein monolayer assembled at the waterperfluorocarbon interface. The soft liquid interface which adapts dynamically to cell-generated forces, guides differentiation of stem cells and has broad implications for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.