Photophysics of norharmane in solution phase: From homogeneous to microheterogeneous environments

The photobehavior of norharmane (9H-pyrido[3,4-b]-indole) (NHM), one of the vastly used skeleton of drugs in therapeutic applications, has recently been the subject of increasing interest due to the finding of their phototoxic and photocarcinogenic properties. Its absorption and fluorescence behavior from different prototropic species show remarkable sensitivity towards the polarity, viscosity and local pH, exhibited by various microheterogeneous bio and biomimetic environments like micelles, reverse micelles, proteins, etc. The significant results obtained for NHM in homogeneous and a series of microheterogeneous environments is reviewed in this account. Much attention has been given to the properties of the excited states, location and biodistribution of NHM in different biological environments. The results can help in understanding the photophysics of the probe in biological environments and in assessing the correlation between different prototropic forms and biological activity.