Imidazole-porphyrin coordination has become an important toolin the design of self-assembled materials. A combination ofspectrophotometric and stopped-flow techniques has been usedto gain insight into the control of imidazole binding in the distalpocket of phenanthroline-strapped porphyrins. The binding studiesof a variety of imidazole substrates in combination with bothhindered and accessible receptors have permitted the determinationof the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters associated with theimidazole binding.