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Self-assembly of tetracationic porphyrin TMPyP(4+) onto polyanionic matrix of inorganic polyphosphate (PPS) in aqueous solutions has been studied in a wide range of molar phosphate-to-dye ratios using techniques of polarized fluorescence, absorption, resonance Raman spectroscopy and static light scattering. The binding of TMPyP(4+) to PPS is characterized by the binding constant of 3 x 10(5) M(-1) and the cooperativity parameter of about 150. The fluorescence quenching of the bound TMPyP(4+) evidences the stacking of the porphyrine chromophores. Under the stoichiometric binding ratio TMPyP(4+) forms extended continuous face-to-face aggregates (so-called H-aggregates) which manifest themselves by a blue shift (12 nm) and a large hypochromisity (51%) of the Soret absorption band. Each face-to-face TMPyP(4+) stack is formed with participation of four PPS chains. Formation of such columnar aggregates is promoted by the ability of PPS chains to take a helix conformation where negative charges are arranged along two oppositely situated rows with intercharge distance of 0.36 nm which corresponds to the thickness of the porphyrin pi-electronic system. The ability of each PPS strand to be template for formation of two porphyrin stacks results in the integration of the adjacent stacks into higher-order aggregates which dimension was estimated from the fluorescence polarization data.

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The cooperative binding of a novel water-soluble cationic derivative of pheophorbide-a (CatPheo-a) to inorganic polyphosphate (PPS) in buffered aqueous solutions was studied by means of polarized fluorescence spectroscopy in a wide range of molar phosphate-to-dye ratios (P/D). Under low P/D values, CatPheo-a forms extended stacking associates on the PPS matrix, while under high P/D the dye binds to PPS in the dimer form. The CatPheo-a self-association is accompanied by 40-fold dye fluorescence quenching and a substantial increase in the fluorescence polarization degree. The fluorescent titration data were used for determination of cooperative binding parameters by Schwarz's method.