Photophysical and photochemical properties of tetrasulfonated silicon and germanium phthalocyanine in aqueous and non-aqueous media

The photophysical and photochemical properties of tetrasulfonated silicon and germanium phthalocyanine (SiPcS₄ and GePcS₄) in aqueous solution (phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution, pH 7.4) (in the presence and absence of cremophore EL (CEL)) and in dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) were studied. The complexes have intense absorption in the visible/near-IR region though they highly aggregate in aqueous solution with a dimerization constant of 2 × 10⁴ dm³ mol^?1. The fluorescence excitation spectra however have only one band suggesting that only the monomer fluoresces. Both the quantum yields of the triplet state (Φ_T) and the triplet lifetimes (τ_T) were found to be higher in DMSO compared to in aqueous solution. Aggregation is hindered by addition of cremophore EL in aqueous solution and this induced disaggregation caused an increased Φ_T and τ_T probably due to the reduced interaction of the phthalocyanines with the aqueous medium in the presence of CEL.