Surface Analysis of Human Hair by AFM（QFM）

Abstract

The outer-facing surface of cuticle sheet which is typically 0.5 µm thick is covered with a monomolecular layer of 18-methyleicosanoic acid （18-MEA）which is bound via a thioester linkage to a protein. Frictional properties of human hair at both root and tip were investigated using a quantitative friction map（QFM）created from friction force microscopy（FFM）detecting the friction force at a molecular level. QFM showed several differences in frictional properties of hair root and tip. The present paper describes the micromorphology and chemical structure of hair surface by consideration of frictional properties.