Hard Alpha-Keratin Degradation Inside a Tissue Under High Flux X-Ray Synchrotron Micro-Beam: A Multi-Scale Time-Resolved Study

The study investigated the effects of high flux X-ray synchrotron micro-beams on the structural integrity of human hair, focusing on the hierarchical organization of hard alpha-keratin. It was found that X-ray micro-beams could significantly disrupt the molecular architecture and organization of tissues within seconds of exposure. The damage occurred at three hierarchical levels: the conformation of keratin dimers, the organization of dimers within filaments, and the lateral organization of filaments within the matrix. The study highlighted the limitations of using synchrotron radiation for micro-diffraction experiments due to the rapid onset of structural disturbances, which complicates the interpretation of scattering data.