The researchers performed a full diffraction map from a 30 micron thick cross-section of hair, with the incident beam parallel to the hair axis and compared it to the diffraction map with the beam perpendicular to the hair axis. So the scientists decided to take a closer look at the diffraction pattern of the hair by measuring it with an X-ray beam aimed parallel to the hair axis.īy using a sub-micron X-ray beam and transmission electron microscopy, they were able to spatially resolve the local structure of the three main regions of the human hair: the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. While studying materials used for hair treatments, Dr Stanic and her colleagues wondered what effect these treatments were having on the diffraction pattern of the hair.Īlthough diffraction patterns have been examined and reported in several publications in the past, they involved bundles of hair fibers or microdiffraction on single hair fibers and, most significantly, the X-ray beam was always oriented perpendicular to the hair fiber axis. “Human hair is primarily composed of keratin molecules arranged in hierarchical structure, where the fundamental building block is called an intermediated filament,” Dr Stanic said. Human hair structure has been studied extensively for more than 70 years, but a complete picture of its local structure has proven elusive. ![]() ![]() Image credit: Fabiano Emmanuel Montoro / LNNano / CNPEM. False-color micrograph of human hair cross-section: the top region shows the external part of the hair – cuticle region the bottom region shows the internal macrofibrils – cortex region.
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