A Compilation of Singlet Oxygen Yields from Biologically Relevant Molecules

Singlet molecular oxygen, 02(’Ag) , has been intensively investigated over the last few decades, primarily in relation to photosensitization reactions. In combination with the increasing awareness and interest in singlet oxygen has been the development of various methodologies for the detection and quantification of singlet oxygen production. A large body of literature now exists concerning the singlet oxygengenerating abilities of a large variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds that can be photoactivated in the UV and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The purpose of this review was to compile data from many different sources to provide a convenient resource for biological scientists with interest in this area. This compilation is essentially an updated subset of the excellent comprehensive review on singlet oxygen yields by Wilkinson et af. (l), which, unlike this compilation, was not limited to biological molecules. The data are current up to the early months of 1999. The following tables include various related parameters in addition to the central parameter of the quantum yield of singlet oxygen generation (QA) for a given photosensitizer. The methodology or technique used to measure the QA value for each entry is given and ranges from direct detection of the luminescence produced on relaxation of singlet oxygen (time-resolved [TRILIT or steady-state [SSIL]), calorimetric