1. Light- or Dark-Colored, L-DOPA-Based Melanins
- Author
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Koen Vercruysse and Whalen Mm
- Subjects
Chemical signature ,Melanin ,Pigment ,Immune system ,Colored ,Chemistry ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,Biophysics ,Interleukin ,Context (language use) ,sense organs ,Human physiology - Abstract
This report is a continuation of previous research on the H2O2-mediated synthesis of melanin-like pigments. We synthesized and characterized L-DOPA-based pigments using air- or H2O2-mediated oxidation. We compared their physic-chemical properties and evaluated their capacity to affect the interleukin release from immune cells. The use of higher concentrations of H2O2 resulted in melanin-like materials with a distinct chemical signature in their FT-IR spectra and a lighter color. All pigments enhanced the interleukin release from immune cells. The possibility that lighter-colored melanins can be generated is discussed in the context of the importance of melanin-based pigmentation in human physiology.
- Published
- 2018
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