Medicinal Applications and Prospects of Tetra- and Tripyrrole Compounds

This review is devoted to some areas of medicinal application of pyrrole-containing macroheterocycles. Two main application areas were discussed: treatment and imaging. The treatment part is divided into anticancer and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy. Novel hybrid and encapsulated photosensitizers were concerned. Successful attempts to inactivate various viruses, including avian influenza H5N8 and SARS-CoV-2, are discussed. Imaging aspects include fluorescence imaging and magnetic resonance imaging. The fluorescence imaging part concerns not only the traditional porphyrin/phthalocyanine ligand fluorescence, but also the near-infrared emission of the central lanthanide ion. The review examines the areas of application of new promising tripyrrole photosensitizers—boron subphthalocyanines. Previously, these compounds attracted the attention of researchers only as materials for organic electronics. However, these compounds are currently considered promising candidates for photodynamic therapy.