Molecular modelling of electron transfer systems by noncovalently linked porphyrin–acceptor pairing

In the respiratory system, electron carriers such as ubiqui-none and cytochrome c play an important role in the electron transfer (ET) reaction between oxidoreductases embedded in the mitochondrial membrane. This review focuses on a strategy for constructing porphyrin–electron acceptor pairs via specific interactions and the evaluation of ET in these systems. Particularly, the molecular recognition of ubiqui-none analogues by porphyrin host molecules and the mimicking of protein–protein complexation using myoglobin reconstituted with a synthetic porphyrin are reviewed, and the characteristics of the photoinduced ET within noncovalently linked complexes are discussed.