The influence of the medium heterogeneity upon the bimolecular rate constants for the physical quenching, kq, and chemical quenching, kr, of singlet molecular oxygen O2(1deltag) by seven natural and three synthetic carotenoids (CAR) with different substituent patterns was studied in a reverse micelle system of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate, hexane and water. Because O2(1deltag) was generated inside the water pools of the reverse micelles by photosensitization of the water-soluble dye rose bengal and the CAR are mainly located in the external hexane pseudophase, the quenching process was interpreted using a pseudophase model for the partition of 02(1deltag) between the water pools and the organic pseudophases. The kq values were mainly dependent on the extent of the double-bond conjugation of the CAR, as demonstrated by a good empirical relationship between log(k(q)) and the energy E(S) of the longest wavelength transition pi-->pi* of the CAR. In contrast, the kr values were almost independent of the extent of the double-bond-conjugated system and about four orders of magnitude lower than kq. However, in all cases, CAR photobleaching was observed with the formation of various oxidation products, depending on the photosensitization time. Chromatographic and spectroscopic product analysis for the reaction products of beta-carotene with O2(1deltag) indicated the formation of the beta-carotene-5,8-endoperoxide as the primary oxidation product.