01648nas a2200181   4500008004100000022001400041245008600055210006900141260007100210300001600281490000800297520096300305100002001268700001501288700002601303700002101329856011601350       2015                        eng d  a1520-610600aFeasibility of ionization-mediated pathway for ultraviolet-induced melanin damage0 aFeasibility of ionizationmediated pathway for ultravioletinduced  a1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USAbAMER CHEMICAL SOCcOCT  a13288-132930 v1193 a<p>Melanin is the pigment found in human skin that is responsible for both photoprotection and photodamage. Recently there have been reports that greater photodamage of DNA occurs when cells containing melanin are irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) radiation, thus suggesting that the photoproducts of melanin cause DNA damage. Photoionization processes have also been implicated in the photodegradation of melanin. However, not much is known about the oxidation potential of melanin and its monomers. In this work we calculate the ionization energies of monomers, dimers, and few oligomers of eumelanin to estimate the threshold energy required for the ionization of eumelanin. We find that this threshold is within the UV-B region for eumelanin. We also look at the charge and spin distributions of the various ionized states of the monomers that are formed to understand which of the ionization channels might favor monomerization from a covalent dimer.</p>1 aMandal, Mukunda1 aDas, Tamal1 aGrewal, Baljinder, K.1 aGhosh, Debashree  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/feasibility-ionization-mediated-pathway-ultraviolet-induced-melanin-damage-0