Compounds with an open chain tetrapyrrole structure are mainly formed in plant and animal organisms during the catabolism of heme or other natural macrocyclic tetrapyrroles. Great success has been achieved in the development of synthetic open-chain analogs of natural tetrapyrroles with a successful combination of practically useful properties. Various combinations of several types of modifications in terms of the method, the nature of the attachment of the spacer and peripheral substituents make it possible to obtain compounds with the necessary set of properties, required for specific practical purposes. Bis(dipyrromethene)s are characterized by conformational isomerism. Depending on the preferred conformation, the bis(dipyrromethene) ligands form complexes of different structure and composition upon complexation with cations of some elements. Bright coloristic and fluorescent signals of the complexation processes of such ligands with metal cations are of great practical interest. The review discusses the possibilities of using bis(dipyrromethene)s as colorimetric and fluorescent sensors of amines and zinc, cadmium, and mercury cations. The review highlights prospects of using bis(dipyrromethene) complexes in various fields of medicine, laser technology, supramolecular chemistry, etc.
