| 초록 |
In biology, the assemblies of molecules are essential for biological functions. However, biopigment (i.e., melanin) assembly is an unpredictable process because heterogeneous derivatives are consequently produced via the catecholamine oxidation. In this study, we demonstrated that the cation-pi interaction is mainly contributed to the progressive assembly of melanin by changing the species of cations (e.g. R-NH3+, Na+, K+, and NR4+), which can affect the formation of artificial melanin called polydopamine. Through the oxidation process, the artificial melanin includes both electron-rich building blocks with dihydroxyindole groups and cationic building blocks with protonated amine groups. The deprotonation of amine groups causes the disassembly of melanin in the strong alkaline condition. However, the addition of other cations (K+ and NR4+) triggers the re-assembly of melanin in the same strong alkaline condition. |
