Provided are fluorescent microparticles and/or nanoparticles that have a polymeric matrix and at least one porphyrinic macrocycle associated therewith. The porphyrinic macrocycles associated with the presently disclosed fluorescent microparticles and/or nanoparticles are in some embodiments selected from the group consisting of porphyrins (including 17,18-didehydrophorbines), chlorins (including phorbines), bacteriochlorins (including bacteriophorbines), and isobacteriochlorins (including isobacteriochlorins containing a fused “E” ring). In some embodiments, the porphyrinic macrocycles have structures selected from Formulas I and H. Also provided are populations made up of a plurality of distinct fluorescent microparticles and/or nanoparticles, methods of making and using the same, sets of separately detectable fluorescent microparticles and/or nanoparticles and methods for preparing and using the same, porphyrinic macrocycle-containing dyads conjugated to particles and methods for using the same to calibrate multi-laser flow cytometers, align and/or calibrate confocal fluorescence microscopes, and/or differentially labeling cells and/or other biomolecules, and biomolecules such as antibodies, fragments, and derivatives thereof covalently conjugated to the presently disclosed fluorescent microparticles and/or nanoparticles and/or to the presently disclosed porphyrinic macrocycle-containing dyads.