Intermolecular Disulfide Cross-Linked Structural Change Induced by Permanent Wave Treatment of Human Hair with Thioglycolic Acid

January 2013 in “ PubMed ”

Kazuyuki Suzuta, Shuntaro Ogawa, Yasufumi Takeda, Katsumi Kaneyama, Kozo Arai

thioglycolic acid sodium bromate disulfide bonds intermediate filament proteins matrix protein permanent wave treatment TGA

Studysummary In this study, treating hair with thioglycolic acid was found to alter disulfide bond patterns in keratin-associated proteins, shifting them from an ellipsoidal to a near-spherical shape. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study investigated the structural changes in human hair induced by permanent wave treatment using thioglycolic acid (TGA) and sodium bromate. By applying rubber elasticity theory to the force-extension curves of treated hair fibers, researchers identified key structural parameters, including the number of intermolecular disulfide (SS) bonds in intermediate filament (IF) proteins, the volume fraction of matrix protein, and the shape of the matrix domain. The findings revealed that TGA preferentially attacked SS bonds between globular matrix proteins over those between IF proteins, leading to a shape change in the matrix domain from ellipsoidal to near-spherical.

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In this study, treatment with aqueous KCN selectively converted disulfide bonds to monosulfide crosslinks in hair, leading to changes in microstructural properties and rubberlike elasticity under specific laboratory conditions.