Abstract

Uroporhyrin, like other natural porphyrins such as coproporphyrin or protoporphyrin, is an important intermediate occurring in the metabolic pathway to protoheme. These porphyrins are important indicators of pathogenic states in an organism. Luminescence spectra of these molecules consist of (≈ 100 cm^–1) broad bands due to an inhomogeneous broadening. Fluorescence line narrowing and hole burning spectroscopies enable to remove an inhomogeneous broadening and high resolution spectra can be obtained (≈ 5 cm^–1 and ≈ 0.01 cm^–1, respectively). Low temperature optical spectra of coproporphyrin and protoporphyrin in various matrices have been measured [1-4]. The aim of this contribution is to present hole burning and fluorescence line narrowing spectra of uroporphyrin.

© 1992 Optical Society of America