Confocal Raman Spectroscopy of Whole Hairs

Condensed Matter journal club

Confocal Raman Spectroscopy of Whole Hairs

  • Event time: 11:30am
  • Event date: 17th January 2014
  • Speaker: Benjamin Little (Formerly School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
  • Location: Room 2511,

Event details

Abstract

This paper describes the application of Raman spectroscopy to whole hair fibers. Previously this has proved difficult because the hairs are relatively opaque, and spatial resolution diminishes with depth because of the change in refractive index. A solution is to couple confocal Raman with multivariate curve resolution (MCR) data analysis, which separates spectral differences with depth despite this reduction in resolution. Initially, it is shown that the cuticle can be separated from the cortex, showing the differences in the proteins, which can then be plotted as a function of depth, with the cuticle factor being seen only at the surface as expected. Hairs that had been treated in different ways, e.g., by bleaching, treatment with the active molecule resorcinol followed by rinsing and treatment with a full hair care product, were also examined. In all cases, changes to the hair are identified and are associated with specific parts of the fiber. Since the hair fiber is kept intact, it can be repeatedly treated and measured, hence multistep treatment processes can be followed. This method expands the potential use of Raman spectroscopy in hair research.
Applied Spectroscopy 67 pages 1408-1416 (2013)
pdf version

Authors

Paul D. A. Pudney, Eleanor Y. M. Bonnist, Kevin J. Mutch, Rachel Nicholls, Hugh Rieley, Samuel Stanfield

About Condensed Matter journal club

Given the diversity of research in the CM group, chosen topics vary widely. We tend to stick to high-impact journals - Nature, Science, PNAS and PRL have been popular - but this is not prescriptive..

Find out more about Condensed Matter journal club.