title: Bioinspired Functionalized Melanin Nanovariants with a Range of Properties Provide Effective Color Matched Photoprotection in Skin.
abstract: Melanin and related polydopamine hold great promise; however, restricted fine-tunabilility limits their usefulness in biocompatible applications. In the present study, by taking a biomimetic approach, we synthesize peptide-derived melanin with a range of physicochemical properties. Characterization of these melanin polymers indicates that they exist as nanorange materials with distinct size distribution, shapes, and surface charges. These variants demonstrate similar absorption spectra but have different optical properties that correlate with particle size. Our approach enables incorporation of chemical groups to create functionalized polyvalent organic nanomaterials and enables customization of melanin. Further, we establish that these synthetic variants are efficiently taken up by the skin keratinocytes, display appreciable photoprotection with minimal cytotoxicity, and thereby function as effective color matched photoprotective agents. In effect we demonstrate that an array of functionalized melanins with distinct properties could be synthesized using bioinspired green chemistry, and these are of immense utility in generating customized melanin/polydopamine like materials.
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.
authors.forename: Manika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vij
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.
authors.forename: Ritika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.
authors.forename: Vishvabandhu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gotherwal
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine , Canal Road, Jammu 180001, India.
authors.forename: Naiem Ahmad
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Wani
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine , Canal Road, Jammu 180001, India.
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.
authors.forename: Hemlata
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gautam
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences , Brig. SK Mazumdar Road, Delhi 110054, India.
authors.forename: Kanupriya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences , Brig. SK Mazumdar Road, Delhi 110054, India.
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chandna
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.|National Institute of Immunology , Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Delhi 110067, India.
authors.forename: Rajesh S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine , Canal Road, Jammu 180001, India.
authors.forename: Rajkishor
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.
authors.forename: Munia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ganguli
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology , Mathura Road, Delhi 110 020, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative research , CSIR campus, CSIR Road, Chennai 600113, India.
authors.forename: Vivek T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Natarajan
mesh_terms: D032701:Biomimetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003116:Color; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008543:Melanins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011835:Radiation Protection; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D008543:Melanins; D011108:Polymers; C568283:polydopamine