Chemically Characterising the Cortical Cell Nano-Structure of Human Hair using Atomic Force Microscopy integrated with Infrared Spectroscopy (AFM-IR).

In this work, we overcome the diffraction limit of light using atomic force microscopy integrated with IR laser spectroscopy (AFM-IR) to characterise sub-micron features of the hair cortex at ultra-high spatial resolution. The resulting spectral analysis shows clear distinctions in the Amide bands in the macrofibrils and surrounding intermacrofibrillar matrix, yielding novel insight into the molecular structure and intermolecular stabilisation interactions of the constituent proteins within each cortical component.