Properties of zinc uroporphyrin III produced from isopropanol by Arthrobacter hyalinus

Abstract In a large amount of porphyrins produced by a bacterium isolated from soil, Arthrobacter hyalinus , cultured in a medium containing isopropanol as the sole carbon source, zinc porphyrins, identified based on the coincidence between their m/z values in LC/MS and the molecular weight of porphyrins, were also found to be produced. Since zinc is easily separated from porphyrins in acid during the esterification of porphyrins, zinc uroporphyrin III was prepared from its octamethyl ester formed by incorporating zinc into the octamethyl ester of uroporphyrin III which was isolated from the culture broth. Its UV spectra, fluorometric spectra, fast atom bombardment (FAB)-mass spectra, and 1 H-NMR and 13 C-NMR spectra were presented.