Adsorption of molybdenum by melanin

BACKGROUND: Melanin is detectable in various sense organs including the skin in animals. It has been reported that melanin adsorbs toxic elements such as mercury, cadmium, and lead. In this study, we investigated the adsorption of molybdenum, which is widely recognized as a toxic element, by melanin. METHODS: Molybdenum level of the mouse skin was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The pigmentation level of murine skin was digitalized as the L* value by using a reflectance spectrophotometer. An in vitro adsorption assay was performed to confirm the interaction between molybdenum and melanin. RESULTS: Our analysis of hairless mice with different levels of skin pigmentation showed that the level of molybdenum increased with an increase in the level of skin pigmentation (L* value). Moreover, our analysis by Spearman’s correlation coefficient test showed a strong correlation (r = − 0.9441, p < 0.0001) between L* value and molybdenum level. Our cell-free experiment using the Langmuir isotherm provided evidence for the adsorption of molybdenum by melanin. The maximum adsorption capacity of 1 mg of synthetic melanin for molybdenum was 131 μg in theory. CONCLUSION: Our in vivo and in vitro results showed a new aspect of melanin as an adsorbent of molybdenum. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12199-019-0791-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.