Biomolecular optoelectronic materials and devices

黑色素是我们的皮肤、眼睛和头发中的分子，它提供颜色和抵御阳光的保护。除了是重要的生物分子外，它们还具有使其在高科技应用中特别是在电子学和光电子学中有用的性质。不幸的是，我们目前对这些引人入胜的材料的了解很差。在我们的项目中，我们的目标是解决这个限制问题。我们将发展新的科学来解释它们的行为，并利用这些知识来创造与生物兼容的高科技材料和设备。我们预计从基础科学和将生物材料用于新的绿色技术的角度将会带来巨大的好处。

The melanins are the molecules in our skin, eyes and hair that provide colour and protection from the sun. In addition to being important bio-molecules, they have properties which make them useful for high tech applications especially in electronics and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, our current understanding of these fascinating materials is poor. In our project we aim to solve this limiting problem. We will develop new science to explain their behaviour, and use this knowledge to create bio-compatible hi-tech materials and devices. We anticipate significant benefits from the perspectives of basic science and utilisation of biomaterials for new green technologies.