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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 46, 34826-34832, November 17, 2006

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Melanin and Glycera Jaws

EMERGING DARK SIDE OF A ROBUST BIOCOMPOSITE STRUCTURE^*

Dana N. Moses¹², John H. Harreld¹, Galen D. Stucky, and J. Herbert Waite

From the Program of Biomolecular Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara (USCB), Santa Barbara, California 93106

Defining the design principles guiding the fabrication of superior biocomposite structures from an assemblage of ordinary molecules is a key goal of biomimetics. Considering their low degree of mineralization, Glycera jaws have been shown to be extraordinarily resistant to abrasion based on the metric hardness³/Young's modulus². The jaws also exhibit an impressive chemical inertness withstanding boiling concentrated hydrochloric acid as well as boiling concentrated sodium hydroxide. A major organic component largely responsible for the chemical inertness of the jaws has been characterized using a spectrophotometric assay for melanin content, ¹³C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, IR spectroscopy, and laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and is identified here as a melanin-like network. Although melanin is widely distributed as a pigment in tissues and other structural biomaterials, to our knowledge, Glycera jaws represent the first known integument to exploit melanin as a cohesive load- and shape-bearing material.

Received for publication, April 10, 2006 , and in revised form, July 27, 2006.

^* This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DEO 14672. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ Both authors contributed equally to this work.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 805-893-5787; Fax: 805-893-4724; E-mail: moses{at}lifesci.ucsb.edu.

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