Studies on Synthetic and Natural Melanin and Its Affinity for Fe(III) Ion

In this work, we measured the metal-binding sites of natural and synthetic dihydroxyindole (DHI) melanins and their respective interactions with Fe(III) ions. Besides the two acid groups detected for the DHI system: catechol (Cat) and quinone-imine (QI), acetate groups were detected in the natural oligomer by potentiometric titrations. At acidic pH values, Fe(III) complexation with synthetic melanin was detected in an Fe(OH)(CatH(2)Cat) interaction. With an increase of pH, three new interactions occurred: dihydroxide diprotonated catechol, Fe(OH)(2)(CatH(2)Cat)(−), dihydroxide monoprotonated catechol, [Fe(OH)(2)(CatHCat)](2−), and an interaction resulting from the association of one quinone-imine and a catechol group, [Fe(OH)(2)(Qi(−))(CatHCat)](3−). In the natural melanin system, we detected the same interactions involving catechol and quinone-imine groups but also the metal interacts with acetate group at pH values lower than 4.0. Furthermore, interactions in the synthetic system were also characterized by infrared spectroscopy by using the characteristic vibrations of catechol and quinone-imine groups. Finally, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis were used to examine the differences in morphology of these two systems in the absence and presence of Fe(III) ions. The mole ratio of metal and donor atoms was obtained by the EDS analysis.