Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37037912›Full record

ArticleNature chemistry2023

Indole-5,6-quinones display hallmark properties of eumelanin.

Xueqing Wang, Lilia Kinziabulatova, Marco Bortoli, Anju Manickoth, Marisa A Barilla, Haiyan Huang, Lluís Blancafort, Bern Kohler, Jean-Philip Lumb

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature chemistry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
6.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. From melanogenesis to melanin technologies.Communications chemistry · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Xueqing Wang *Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2606-6510
Lilia Kinziabulatova *Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8124-5912
Marco Bortoli *Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5506-6347
Anju ManickothInstitut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9141-7693
Marisa A BarillaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4116-8427
Haiyan HuangDepartment of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Lluís BlancafortInstitut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain. lluis.blancafort@udg.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0003-5540
Bern KohlerDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. kohler@chemistry.ohio-state.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5353-1655
Jean-Philip LumbDepartment of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. jean-philip.lumb@mcgill.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9283-1199
McGill University · CAThe Ohio State University · USUniversitat de Girona · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Melanins are ubiquitous biopolymers produced from phenols and catechols by oxidation. They provide photoprotection, pigmentation and redox activity to most life forms, and inspire synthetic materials with desirable optical, electronic and mechanical properties. The chemical structures of melanins remain elusive, however, creating uncertainty about their roles, and preventing the design of synthetic mimics with tailored properties. Indole-5,6-quinone (IQ) has been implicated as a biosynthetic intermediate and structural subunit of mammalian eumelanin pigments, but its instability has prevented its isolation and unambiguous characterization. Here we use steric shielding to stabilize IQ and show that 'blocked' derivatives exhibit eumelanin's characteristic ultrafast nonradiative decay and its ability to absorb light from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. These new compounds are also redox-active and a source of paramagnetism, emulating eumelanin's unique electronic properties, which include persistent radicals. Blocked IQs are atomistically precise and tailorable molecules that can offer a bottom-up understanding of emergent properties in eumelanin and have the potential to advance the rational design of melanin-inspired materials.

Indexed as

MelaninsQuinonesAnimalsBenzoquinonesIndolesMammalsBenzoquinoneseumelaninIndolesMelaninsquinoneQuinones

Identifiers

PMID37037912
OpenAlexW4363675305

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.