State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China.
Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Aug 7;16(31):40531-40542. doi: 10.1021/acsami.4c06070. Epub 2024 Jul 23.
Nature provides a great source of inspiration for the development of sustainable materials with excellent properties, among which melanin with optical, electronic, and radiation protection properties are considered to be promising coloring materials. However, compared to chemical pigments, the single color, complex oxidation process, and poor solubility of natural melanin strongly limit their further applications. Here, we introduce a series of melanin-like polymeric pigments with amino acid-encoded physicochemical properties by a simple three-component reaction system. Our protocol enables artificial control of the chromophore structures through the rational design of the substrates and dopants, thereby combining the safety and functionality of biopigments with the color richness of chemical dyes. Similar to the photoprotective effect of natural melanin, the polymeric pigments showed excellent antioxidant activity in reducing free radicals and have the advantages of iridescent color, strong tinting strength, stability, and affordability. Furthermore, due to their ability to dye substrates, these biomimetic are expected to become new low-cost bioactive chromophores and find various biochemical applications such as in clothing and hair dyeing, food addition, and anticounterfeiting detection.
自然界为具有优异性能的可持续材料的发展提供了丰富的灵感来源，其中具有光学、电子和辐射防护性能的黑色素被认为是有前途的着色材料。然而，与化学颜料相比，天然黑色素的单一颜色、复杂的氧化过程和较差的溶解度强烈限制了其进一步的应用。在这里，我们通过一个简单的三组分反应体系，引入了一系列具有氨基酸编码理化性质的黑色素样聚合物颜料。我们的方案通过合理设计底物和掺杂剂来实现对生色团结构的人工控制，从而将生物颜料的安全性和功能性与化学染料的丰富色彩相结合。与天然黑色素的光保护作用类似，聚合物颜料在还原自由基方面表现出优异的抗氧化活性，并且具有虹彩颜色、强着色强度、稳定性和可负担性的优点。此外，由于它们能够对基质进行染色，这些仿生材料有望成为新的低成本生物活性生色团，并在服装和染发剂、食品添加剂和防伪检测等各个生化领域找到应用。
