Unzipping the Cuticle of the Human Hair Shaft to Obtain Micron/Nano Keratin Filaments

    August 2006 in “ Biopolymers ”
    Jin Cao, Ratna Sari Wijaya, Frédéric Leroy
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    TLDR Researchers extracted tiny keratin filaments from human hair by unzipping its outer layer.
    Researchers successfully obtained intact individual keratin filaments from the human hair shaft by unzipping the cuticle using solvents like performic acid and urea. They demonstrated that the hair shaft's cuticle has a longitudinal seam that can be separated to access micron cortical, micron macrofibril, and nano intermediate filaments. The study found that cortical filaments are twisted together, forming a yarn that contributes to the hair shaft's strength, and that these filaments often pair in a double helix structure.
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