Photophysical properties of pheophorbide a in solution and in model membrane systems

Pheophorbide a (Pheo) is a well-known hydrophobic photosensitizer used for photodynamic treatment of various diseases. The influence of the surroundin gs on the electronic properties of photosensitizers mainly accumulating in membrane structures is of relevance for their photoactivity. In this paper the current knowledge about the electronic properties of Pheo in different microheterogeneous environments is summarized and new findings about its in corparation in different model membranes are discussed. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.