porphyrin

American  

[pawr-fuh-rin] / ˈpɔr fə rɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a dark red, photosensitive pigment consisting of four pyrrole rings linked by single carbon atoms: a component of chlorophyll, heme, and vitamin B 1 2 .

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porphyrin British  

/ ˈpɔːfɪrɪn /

noun

1. any of a group of pigments occurring widely in animal and plant tissues and having a heterocyclic structure formed from four pyrrole rings linked by four methylene groups

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porphyrin Scientific  

/ pôr′fə-rĭn /

1. Any of various organic pigments containing four pyrrole rings bonded to one another. The rings form the corners of a large flat square, in the middle of which is a cavity that often contains a metal atom. Porphyrins occur universally in protoplasm and function with bound metals such as iron in hemoglobin and magnesium in chlorophyll.

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Etymology

Origin of porphyrin

1905–10; < Greek porphýr ( a ) purple + -in ²

Example Sentences

And yet atollas gain their reddish coloration from pigments called porphyrins, which don’t absorb blue light all that well and which, if exposed to bright light, emit toxins.

From The Wall Street Journal

The porphyrin is sandwiched between two graphene electrodes, and when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, electron flow through the molecule can be controlled using quantum interference.

From Science Daily

The compounds, called porphyrins, had previously been shown to be adept at absorbing light and using that energy to convert oxygen molecules in the air to a reactive form known as singlet oxygen.

From Science Magazine

When these porphyrins held a metal atom like iron or copper, they had a ferocious affinity for oxygen.

From Scientific American

The key to this advance is to firmly anchor the target molecule to a substrate — in this case, the authors fixed an organic molecule from the porphyrin family to a copper surface.

From Nature