Self-assembly of tetrapyrrolic compounds

Our current work is focused on the self-assembly of various supramolecular structures from tetrapyrrolic compounds in microheterogeneous systems. The main aim of this work is to control the aggregation state, photophysical properties and photochemical activity of tetrapyrroles at the supramolecular level (without any covalent modifications) due to programmable changes in the local parameters of their microenvironment in microheterogeneous systems. This approach allows to obtain hybrid supramolecular structures with the certain types of photochemical activity: photosensitized singlet oxygen generation for photodynamic therapy, photo-induced redox processes for photocatalytic applications, or fluorescence for the imaging and diagnostic purposes.

Dye-polymer interactions in condensed phase

The particular case of the above approach is non-covalent stabilization of different forms of tetrapyrrolic compounds within polymer matrixes, including ferroelectric polymer films for sensing applications, nonwoven polymer fibers with bactericidal activity, polymer nanoparticles for cancer therapy, etc.

Self-organization of inorganic soft matter

This research area includes the studies of self-organization processes of inorganic or hybrid organic-inorganic colloid systems into highly-ordered microstructures under the influence of different external factors (UV- or visible light, microwave irradiation, local heating, etc). The structures obtained possess a number of valuable physical and chemical properties, including biomimetic ones, and hence, can be considered as a new type of hybrid smart materials.