The Incorporation of Various Metal Ions into in Vivo- and in Vitro-Produced Melanin

Abstract

Small amounts of a number of metal ions have been found in melanins obtained from natural sources, and ${}^{140}{\rm Ba}$ and226 Ra have been found to deposit in tissues containing melanin. In the studies reported here, some aspects of the chemical nature of the incorporation were investigated with radionuclides of high specific activity. The uptake of metal ions by synthetic melanin from a physiological buffer increased with decreasing hydrated ionic radius, decreased with decreasing pH, and decreased in the presence of chelating agents. Replacement of melanin-bound ${\rm Ra}^{++}$ with H+ demonstrated the reversibility of the reaction. Comparative studies with synthetic melanin and natural melanin plus its protein showed that the role of the protein in the reactions is small. Both the reaction characteristics and the chemical structures of melanin and of weak acid cation exchangers are similar, which suggests that metal ions and melanin interact by ion exchange.