Natural melanin composites by layer-by-layer assembly

Taesik Eom; Bong Sub Shim

doi:10.1117/12.2085519

1 April 2015 Natural melanin composites by layer-by-layer assembly

Taesik Eom, Bong Sub Shim

Proceedings Volume 9430, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015; 94302V (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2085519
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Melanin is an electrically conductive and biocompatible material, because their conjugated backbone structures provide conducting pathways from human skin, eyes, brain, and beyond. So there is a potential of using as materials for the neural interfaces and the implantable devices. Extracted from Sepia officinalis ink, our natural melanin was uniformly dispersed in mostly polar solvents such as water and alcohols. Then, the dispersed melanin was further fabricated to nano-thin layered composites by the layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technique. Combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), the melanin nanoparticles behave as an LBL counterpart to from finely tuned nanostructured films. The LBL process can adjust the smart performances of the composites by varying the layering conditions and sandwich thickness. We further demonstrated the melanin loading degree of stacked layers, combination nanostructures, electrical properties, and biocompatibility of the resulting composites by UV-vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), multimeter, and in-vitro cell test of PC12, respectively.

Citation Download Citation

Taesik Eom and Bong Sub Shim "Natural melanin composites by layer-by-layer assembly", Proc. SPIE 9430, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015, 94302V (1 April 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2085519

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