The occurrence and roles of porphyrins in the environment: possible implications for bioremediation

Abstract

Porphyrins are the molecules which are at the heart of most biochemical reactions involved in bioremediation. This review paper discusses the chemical structures, the biosynthetic pathways and the occurrence of porphyrins in the environment. The parallel between the mammalian and bacterial cytochrome P-450 enzyme systems and the similarity of the reactions at the molecular level is brought to the attention of the reader. Experiments where porphyrins and corrinoids are used as catalysts in the absence of the enzymes or the bacterial cells are opening the field of biochemical remediation, somewhere midway between biological and abiotic reactions. La présence et le rôle des porphyrines dans l'environnement: implications possibles pour la biorestaurationRésumé Les porphyrines sont les molécules qui se retrouvent au coeur de la plupart des réactions biochimiques impliquées dans la biorestauration. Cet article passe en revue les structures chimiques, les chaînes de biosynthèse et la présence des porphyrines dans l'environnement. On dresse un parallèle entre les systèmes enzymatiques cytochromes P-450 d'origine bactérienne et mammifère et la similitude de leurs réactions au niveau moléculaire est soulignée. Des essais où les porphyrines et les corrinoïdes sont utilisées comme catalyseurs en l'absence d'enzymes ou de cellules bactériennes ouvrent la voie à la restauration biochimique, quelque part entre les réactions biologiques et abiotiques.

Probing the Interactions of Porphyrins with Macromolecules Using NMR Spectroscopy Techniques

“…The tetrapyrrole ring system forms a cavity that can accommodate many different metal ions, typically forming bidentate complexes that give rise to the widespread metalloporphyrins [ 2 , 3 ]. It is remarkable that a wide range of living systems including animals, plants and microorganisms make use of this common concept for fulfilling key functions in biological processes [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The major classes of naturally occurring porphyrinic compounds can be subdivided into porphyrins ( I ) in a narrower sense (often the whole group of porphyrinic compounds is referred to as porphyrins), chlorins ( II ), bacteriochlorins ( III ), and corrins ( IV ) ( Figure 1 ) [ 3 , 4 ].…”

UO22+-mediated ring contraction of pyrihexaphyrin: synthesis of a contracted expanded porphyrin-uranyl complex

“…Metalloporphyrins and ostensibly related corrin species are central to a variety of biochemical processes essential for life 1–3. Not surprisingly, the biosynthetic pathways and function of these and related conjugated tetrapyrrolic species remain a topic of fundamental interest 4–6.…”

Recent applications of porphyrins as photocatalysts in organic synthesis: batch and continuous flow approaches

“…The 18 π electron aromatic system (Figure 1, in bold) of the porphyrinoids confers stability, planarity and special electronic characteristics to these compounds. As it is well-known, tetrapyrrolic compounds are considered to be the "pigments of life" since they play a key role in essential biological processes, such as photosynthesis (chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls), redox reactions for detoxification of anthropogenic chemicals (cytochrome P450) and oxygen transport (hemoglobin) [5,6].…”