Resonance light-scattering measurements have been employed to investig
ate the solute species present in acidic aqueous media for some 14 sul
fonated porphyrins. The results confirm that the anomalous absorption
band in the Soret region reported for several of these porphyrins aris
es from the formation of extended aggregates of electronically coupled
chromophores and illustrate the sensitivity and specificity of this u
nconventional light-scattering method.