Abstract
Zinc chlorin 1 possessing tertiary 3$^1$_hydroxy and 13$^1$-oxo groups was synthesized as a model for the antenna chlorophylls of photosynthetic green bacteria. Self-aggregation of 1 in nonpolar organic solvents was examined and compared to 2 and 3 possessing a secondary and primary 3$^1$_hydroxy group, respectively. Zinc chlorin 1 self-aggregated in I％(v/v) CH$_2$Cl$_2$-hexane to form oligomers and showed a red-shifted Qy maximum at 704 nm compared to the monomer (648 nm in CH$_2$CI2$_2$). This red-shift is larger than that of 3$^1$S-2 (648 to 697 nm) and comparable to that of3$^1$R-2 (648 to 705 nm), but smaller than that of 1 (648 to 740 nm), indicating that while a single 3$^1$-methyl group (primary to secondary OH) suppressed tight and/or extended aggregation, the additional 3$^1$-methyl group (secondary to tertiary OH) did not further suppress aggregation. The relative stability of the aggregates was in the order 3> 3$^1$R-2∼ 1 > 3$^1$S-2 as determined by visible spectral analyses. Molecular modeling calculations on oligomers of zinc chlorins 1, 3$^1$ R-2 and 3 gave similar well-ordered energy-minimized structures, while 3 stacked more tightly than 3$^1$ R- 2 and 1. In contrast, 3$^1$S-2 gave a relatively disordered (twisted) structure. The calculated oligomeric structures could explain the visible spectral data of 1-3 in nonpolar organic solvents. Moreover, self- aggregation of synthetic zinc 13$^1$_oxo-hlorins 4-6 possessing a 2-hydroxyethyl, 3-hydroxypropyl and 3- hydroxy-I-propenyl group at the 3-position in nonpolar organic solvents was discussed.