New Insight into the Link between Melanin Pigment and Radioprotection

Previous research has demonstrated a link between melanin pigments and radioprotection, although an understanding of the protective role that this link plays in ionizing radiation is not yet clear. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), in collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, have come one step closer to understanding this relationship, according to the results of a new study in Bioelectrochemistry.
 
Dr. Charles Turick, Science Fellow with SRNL, and colleagues have demonstrated that melanin can receive electrons, which counter the oxidizing effects of gamma radiation. According to the Bioelectrochemistry abstract, “the significance of the work is that it provides the first step in understanding the initial interactions between melanin and ionizing radiation taking place and offers some insight for production of biomimetic radioprotective materials.”
 
According to Dr. Turick, the findings were contradictory to what the researchers expected to find, but the results were positive nonetheless.
 
“Over time, as melanin is bombarded with radiation and electrons are knocked away, you would expect to see the melanin become oxidized, or bleached out, and lose its ability to provide protection, but that's not what we're seeing,” Dr. Turick said. “Instead, the melanin continuously restores itself."
 
This development could be useful for the space industry as well as dermatology, according to the researchers, for satellites and other equipment that are exposed to radiation so often. In addition, this new understanding of the link between melanin and radioprotection could also help researchers develop materials that mimic these natural properties.