Regioselective transformation of octaethylporphyrin into a phytoporphyrin analogue.

An octaethylporphyrin derivative, 1, possessing an exo-five-membered ring fused at the 13- and 15-positions was oxidized by osmium tetroxide to give two isomeric chlorins, 3 and 5, possessing beta,beta'-dihydroxy groups at the A- and C-rings, respectively. Single dehydration of 2,3-dihydroxychlorin 3 gave a mixture of 2- and 3-(1-hydroxyethyl)porphyrins 7, while that of 12,13-dihydroxychlorin 5 resulted in the sole formation of 131-hydroxyporphyrin 9. The latter was modified smoothly to the phytoporphyrin analogue 2, whose molecular skeleton was similar to that of naturally occurring chlorophylls possessing a 131-oxo group fixed on an exo-five-membered ring.