Editing Dopamine (section)

==History and development==
{{Main|History of catecholamine research}}
Dopamine was first synthesized in 1910 by [[George Barger]] and James Ewens at [[Wellcome Trust|Wellcome]] Laboratories in London, England<ref name="pmid18781671">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fahn S | title = The history of dopamine and levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease | journal = Movement Disorders | volume = 23 | issue = Suppl 3 | pages = S497–508 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18781671 | doi = 10.1002/mds.22028 | s2cid = 45572523 }}</ref> and first identified in the human brain by [[Katharine Montagu]] in 1957. It was named dopamine because it is a [[monoamine]] whose precursor in the Barger-Ewens synthesis is 3,4-'''d'''ihydr'''o'''xy'''p'''henyl'''a'''lanine (levodopa or L-DOPA). Dopamine's function as a neurotransmitter was first recognized in 1958 by [[Arvid Carlsson]] and [[Nils-Åke Hillarp]] at the Laboratory for Chemical Pharmacology of the National Heart Institute of [[Sweden]].<ref name="pmid11165672">{{cite journal | vauthors = Benes FM | title = Carlsson and the discovery of dopamine | journal = Trends in Pharmacological Sciences | volume = 22 | issue = 1 | pages = 46–47 | date = January 2001 | pmid = 11165672 | doi = 10.1016/S0165-6147(00)01607-2 }}</ref> Carlsson was awarded the 2000 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] for showing that dopamine is not only a precursor of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline), but is also itself a neurotransmitter.<ref name=Barondes>{{cite book| vauthors = Barondes SH | year=2003| title=Better Than Prozac| pages=[https://archive.org/details/betterthanprozac00baro/page/21 21–22, 39–40]| location=New York| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-515130-5| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/betterthanprozac00baro/page/21}}</ref>

===Polydopamine===
Research motivated by [[bioadhesive|adhesive]] [[polyphenolic protein]]s in [[mussel]]s led to the discovery in 2007 that a wide variety of materials, if placed in a solution of dopamine at slightly basic [[pH]], will become coated with a layer of polymerized dopamine, often referred to as '''polydopamine'''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lee H, Dellatore SM, Miller WM, Messersmith PB | title = Mussel-inspired surface chemistry for multifunctional coatings | journal = Science | volume = 318 | issue = 5849 | pages = 426–30 | date = October 2007 | pmid = 17947576 | pmc = 2601629 | doi = 10.1126/science.1147241 | bibcode = 2007Sci...318..426L }}</ref><ref name=Dreyer>{{cite journal | title = Perspectives on poly(dopamine) | vauthors = Dreyer DR, Miller DJ, Freeman BD, Paul DR, Bielawski CW | journal = Chemical Science | year = 2013 | doi = 10.1039/C3SC51501J | volume=4 | issue = 10 | page=3796}}</ref> This polymerized dopamine forms by a spontaneous oxidation reaction, and is formally a type of melanin.<ref name=Lynge>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lynge ME, van der Westen R, Postma A, Städler B | title = Polydopamine—a nature-inspired polymer coating for biomedical science | journal = Nanoscale | volume = 3 | issue = 12 | pages = 4916–28 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 22024699 | doi = 10.1039/c1nr10969c | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51742922 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140307205318/http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Almar_Postma/publication/51742922_Polydopamine--a_nature-inspired_polymer_coating_for_biomedical_science/file/d912f50318c9e0c7bb.pdf | bibcode = 2011Nanos...3.4916L | archive-date = 7 March 2014 }}</ref> Furthermore, dopamine self-polymerization can be used to modulate the mechanical properties of peptide-based gels.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fichman G, Schneider JP | title = Dopamine Self-Polymerization as a Simple and Powerful Tool to Modulate the Viscoelastic Mechanical Properties of Peptide-Based Gels | journal = Molecules | volume = 26 | issue = 5 | pages = 1363 | date = March 2021 | pmid = 33806346 | pmc = 7961423 | doi = 10.3390/molecules26051363 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Synthesis of polydopamine usually involves reaction of dopamine hydrochloride with [[Tris]] as a base in water. The structure of polydopamine is unknown.<ref name=Dreyer />

Polydopamine coatings can form on objects ranging in size from [[nanoparticle]]s to large surfaces.<ref name=Lynge/> Polydopamine layers have chemical properties that have the potential to be extremely useful, and numerous studies have examined their possible applications.<ref name=Lynge/> At the simplest level, they can be used for protection against damage by light, or to form capsules for drug delivery.<ref name=Lynge/> At a more sophisticated level, their adhesive properties may make them useful as substrates for [[biosensor]]s or other biologically active macromolecules.<ref name=Lynge/>