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Published on: August 31, 2015
Aryl boronic acid inhibition of synthetic melanin polymerization
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA. Jason.Belitsky@Oberlin.edu
Abstract:
Inhibitors of melanin formation are sought after for a range of applications. Boronophenylalanine is known to inhibit melanogenesis via boronic acid-catechol interactions. A spectroscopic assay was developed to study the polymerization of l-dopa to synthetic melanin in the presence of para-substituted aryl boronic acids. The best inhibition was observed for aryl boronic acids with electron-withdrawing substituents. The IC(50) values exhibit a correlation with the Hammett sigma(p) parameter (rho=0.97, r(2)=0.92).
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