LAUSR

Significance Regarding basic science, we report a physical chemistry mechanism involved in turnover of spent photoreceptor discs, a process essential for reusing retinal and preventing lipofuscin that leads to age-related macular degeneration. We show that melanin in the retinal pigment epithelium is required for turnover and that turnover is enhanced by chemical excitation of electrons, a quantum chemistry phenomenon termed “chemiexcitation.” Regarding molecular medicine, we report that lipofuscin is removed from eye explants of the preclinical mouse model using a chemical that excites electrons directly. This circumvents the dependence on melanin, which varies between individuals and is less effective with age. Chemiexcitation also explains an array of known treatments that decrease ocular lipofuscin in what we show is a melanin-dependent way.