Ultrafast spectral hole burning reveals the distinct chromophores in eumelanin and their common photoresponse.

ABSTRACT: Eumelanin, the brown-black pigment found in organisms from bacteria to humans, dissipates solar energy and prevents photochemical damage. While the structure of eumelanin is unclear, it is thought to consist of an extremely heterogeneous collection of chromophores that absorb from the UV to the infrared, additively producing its remarkably broad absorption spectrum. However, the chromophores responsible for absorption by eumelanin and their excited state decay pathways remain highly uncertain. Using femtosecond broadband transient absorption spectroscopy, we address the excited state behavior of chromophore subsets that make up a synthetic eumelanin, DOPA melanin, and probe the heterogeneity of its chromophores. Tuning the excitation light over more than an octave from the UV to the visibl

SUBMITTER: Kohl FR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8148383 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature