Patent ID: 7537751

Claim:
A labeling reagent comprising a nonmetallic porphyrin, said reagent comprising: wherein R 0 is a reactive group and is attached directly or indirectly to any one of the four non-pyrrole positions of said nonmetallic porphyrin, and R 1 through R 8 independently comprise hydrogen, aliphatic, unsaturated aliphatic, cyclic, heterocyclic, aromatic, heteroaromatic, charged or polar groups, or any combinations of the foregoing, wherein said reactive group R 0 comprises sulfhydryl, hydroxyl, amine, isothiocyanate, isocyanate, monochlorotriazine, dichlorotriazine, mono- or di-halogen substituted pyridine, mono- or di-halogen substituted diazine, maleimide, aziridine, sulfonylhalide, acid halide, hydroxysuccinimide ester, hydroxysulfosuccinimide ester, imidoester, hydrazine, azidonitrophenyl, azide, 3-(2-pyridyldithio)-proprionamide, glyoxal, an alkene group, an alkyne group or a halogenated compound.