Examples of sapphyrin polymers include, but are clearly not limited to, the sapphyrin structures 26A and 26B of FIG. 5C-3i where X???NH and X???O, respectively, and structure 27 of FIG. 5C-3ii, where phosphate linkages are employed; in both of these structures, n may be up to and including about 200 units or even more depending on the intended use of the polymer and the synthetic chemistry chosen.