Investigation of human hair cuticle structure by microdiffraction: direct observation of cell membrane complex swelling
| Autor: | D. Flot, Laurent Kreplak, F. Briki, C. Mérigoux, Jean Doucet |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Electron density
Materials science Biophysics Water sorption Biochemistry law.invention Cell membrane Stress (mechanics) X-Ray Diffraction Structural Biology law medicine Humans Molecular Biology Cuticle (hair) Cell Membrane Direct observation Water Models Theoretical Microscopy Electron Crystallography medicine.anatomical_structure Electron microscope Swelling medicine.symptom Hair Follicle |
| Zdroj: | Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology. 1547:268-274 |
| ISSN: | 0167-4838 |
| Popis: | The cuticle of mammalian hair fibres protects the core of the fibre against physical and chemical stress. The structure and some of the properties of the cuticle have been extensively studied by electron microscopy. However, there is still a need for a less invasive structural probe. For this purpose, microdiffraction experiments have been carried out on human hair samples showing a characteristic small-angle X-ray scattering pattern for the cuticle. This pattern has been assigned to the cell membrane complex (CMC) between each cuticle scale. Using a simple model of the electron density within the CMC, values have been derived for the average thickness of the beta- and delta-layers which are close to those obtained by electron microscopy. In order to illustrate the potentialities of microdiffraction in studying the properties of the cuticle, the effect of water sorption has been monitored. Using the intensity modelling described above, a 10% swelling of the delta-layer's thickness has been observed. This study shows that structural modifications of the CMC by physical or chemical stress can be followed directly on the cuticle of human hair fibres by microdiffraction analysis. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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