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The texaphyrins are prototypical metal-coordinating expanded porphyrins. They represent a burgeoning class of pharmacological agents that show promise for an array of medical applications. Currently, two different water-soluble lanthanide texaphyrins, namely motexafin gadolinium (Gd-Tex, 1) and motexafin lutetium (Lu-Tex, 2), are involved in multi-center clinical trials for a variety of indications. The first of these agents, XCYTRIN^® (motexafin gadolinium) Injection, is being evaluated as a potential X-ray radiation enhancer in a randomized Phase III clinical trial in patients with brain metastases. The second, in various formulations, is being evaluated as a photosensitizer for use in: (i) the photodynamic treatment of recurrent breast cancer (LUTRIN^® Injection; now in Phase IIb clinical trials); (ii) photoangioplastic reduction of atherosclerosis involving peripheral and coronary arteries (ANTRIN^® Injection; now in Phase II and Phase I clinical trials, respectively); and (iii) light-based age-related macular degeneration (OPTRIN™ Injection; currently under Phase II clinical evaluation), a vision-threatening disease of the retina. In this article, these developments, along with fundamental aspects of the underlying chemistry are reviewed.

The synthesis of an isoamethyrin-type expanded porphyrin bearing both meso- and β-substituents is presented. The diprotonated form of this macrocycle was characterized by conventional spectroscopic means and via a single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. This species is observed to adopt a planar conformation in the solid state. Nonetheless, the inner ring current, as inferred from ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies, is found to be severely diminished as compared to isoamethyrin, by the presence of the two meso-phenyl moieties. A second crystal structure, in which a molecule of water is hydrogen-bound to a pyrrole NH, was also solved.

A new member of the cyclo[n]pyrrole class of expanded porphyrins was prepared from the corresponding thiophene-containing terpyrrole precursor through use of a mild electrochemical oxidative procedure. The isolated macrocycle, featuring nine heterocyclic subunits directly connected through their α,α′-positions, is the largest cyclo[n]pyrrole derivative reported to date. The structure obtained via synchrotron radiation-based studies revealed a dimeric arrangement involving individual macrocyclic subunits.