melanininspired

Melanininspired is a descriptor used to denote materials, devices, or design strategies that imitate or take cues from melanin, the natural pigment found in many organisms. The term encompasses approaches that reproduce melanin's key properties, notably its broad-spectrum light absorption across ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges; its photostability and energy-dissipation capabilities; and its redox activity and radical-scavenging behavior. In biology, melanin is produced by specialized pigment-producing cells called melanocytes and is responsible for coloration as well as protection against UV radiation. Melanininspired research often focuses on synthesizing melanin-like polymers or nanoparticles that mimic the optical and chemical features of natural melanin. These synthetic melanins, sometimes called eumelanin or pheomelanin analogs, aim to combine durability with biocompatibility, enabling applications such as UV-protective coatings, antioxidant additives, bioimaging agents, and components for organic electronic devices and energy storage. In coatings, melanininspired materials offer broadband UV shielding and weather resistance. In electronics and energy, their semiconducting and redox properties can support charge transport or energy storage with inherent stability. In biomedicine, melanin-like particles are explored for photothermal therapy, radioprotection, and drug delivery due to photothermal properties and biocompatibility. Challenges include replicating the precise molecular structure of natural melanin, achieving consistent properties across batches, understanding long-term biocompatibility and environmental impact, and scaling production. The field is interdisciplinary, drawing on chemistry, materials science, biology, and medicine.