Porphyrin-Azocoumarins: Synthesis, Photophysical, Theoretical, and Biological Studies

Porphyrin-coumarin hybrid systems are an intriguing class of multifunctional hybrid molecules that combine the appealing photophysical properties of porphyrins with the biological significance of coumarins. This work introduces a new entry into this field, called porphyrin-azocoumarins 4-6. The porphyrins used in this study feature five-membered meso-tris(2-thienyl/2-furyl) substituents, in addition to meso-tris(4-tolyl) substituted porphyrins. This paper presents the synthesis, photophysical studies, and computational analysis of all the new hybrids reported. Furthermore, antimicrobial studies, in vitro cytotoxicity evaluations, and molecular docking analyses of these hybrids are reported. The hybrid 4 demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity and achieved the highest molecular docking scores in the series. All hybrids exhibited low in vitro cytotoxicity against NIH3T3 cell lines, suggesting their potential for further investigation as therapeutic agents.