Direct observation of NH2* reactions with oxygen, amino acids, and melanins

We report the direct observation of the quenching of the weakly absorbing transient due to the amino radical by oxygen and, hence determine, by a totally direct method, the corresponding rate constant (k = (1.1 +/- 0.1) x 10(9) dm3 mol(-1) s(-1)). We also report the rate constants for the reactions of the amino radical with several amino acids and models of black eumelanin and blond/red phaeomelanin. These reactions lead to a mechanism, based on free radicals, that can explain why ammonia is useful in commercial hair (melanin) bleaching, avoiding excessive amino acid (hair protein) damage.