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Melanin from epidermal human melanocytes: Study by pyrolytic GC/MS by Krystyna Stępień; Anna Dzierżęga-Lęcznar; Slawomir Kurkiewicz; Irena Tam is a Chemistry article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Melanin from epidermal human melanocytes: Study by pyrolytic GC/MS about?

Pigmentation of human skin is determined by the presence of melanin, the polymeric pigment that is produced in melanocytes and transferred to adjacent keratinocytes. Epidermal melanocytes produce two distinct types of melanin pigments: eumelanin, composed mainly of indole-type monomers, and pheomelanin that contains benzothiazine-type backbone. Eumelanin protects skin against UV-induced damages, whereas pheomelanin is believed to act as a potent UV photosensitizer and promote carcinogenesis. In this study, pyrolysis in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was applied for structural studies of the epidermal pigment isolated from the cultured human melanocytes. The analysis was preceded by investigations of DOPA-originated synthetic eumelanin and pheomelanin standards. This allowed determination of pyrolytic markers for both types of melanin pigments. To obtain additional information on the natural pigment structure, the samples were thermally degraded in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide as the derivatizing agent. It was shown that the analyzed pigment from normal human epidermal melanocytes derived from moderately pigmented skin is of eum

Who reads Melanin from epidermal human melanocytes: Study by pyrolytic GC/MS?

Author

Krystyna Stępień; Anna Dzierżęga-Lęcznar; Slawomir Kurkiewicz; Irena Tam

Publisher

Elsevier Science; Springer-Verlag; Springer New York LLC; American Chemical Society (ACS); Springer Science and Business Media LLC; Elsevier BV (ISSN 1044-0305)

Published

2009

Language

EN

Field

Chemistry (Physical Sciences)