Abstract
We propose a novel keratin treatment of human hair by its aqueous mixtures with natural halloysite clay nanotubes. The loaded clay nanotubes together with free keratin produce micrometer-thick protective coating on hair. First, colloidal and structural properties of halloysite/keratin dispersions and the nanotube loaded with this protein were investigated. Above the keratin isoelectric point (pH = 4), the protein adsorption into the positive halloysite lumen is favored because of the electrostatic attractions. The ζ-potential magnitude of these core–shell particles increased from −35 (in pristine form) to −43 mV allowing for an enhanced colloidal stability (15 h at pH = 6). This keratin-clay tubule nanocomposite was used for the immersion treatment of hair. Three-dimensional-measuring laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that 50–60% of the hair surface coverage can be achieved with 1 wt % suspension application. Hair samples have been exposed to UV irradiation for times up to 72 h to explore the protection capacity of this coating by monitoring the cysteine oxidation products. The nanocomposites of halloysite and keratin prevent the deterioration of human hair as evident by significant inhibition of cysteic acid. The successful hair structure protection was also visually confirmed by atomic force microscopy and dark-field hyperspectral microscopy. The proposed formulation represents a promising strategy for a sustainable medical coating on the hair, which remediates UV irradiation stress.
Highlights
Nanotechnology has been explored for novel cosmetic formulations, such as deodorants, nails, anti-aging care, sunscreens, and hair care.[1]
Between pH 6 and 12, the keratin ζ-potential is ca. −10 mV. ζpotential results were supported by UV−vis spectroscopy experiments, which evidenced that the specific extinction coefficient of keratin is influenced by the pH of the aqueous solvent (Figure 2b); εk versus pH function exhibited an exponential decreasing trend for pH ≤ 5, and it does not change between pH 5 and 9
Halloysite/keratin hybrids were developed as UV-protective coating layers for surface engineering of healthy human hair
Summary
Nanotechnology has been explored for novel cosmetic formulations, such as deodorants, nails, anti-aging care, sunscreens, and hair care.[1] Functional nanoparticles allow for sustained release of drugs with skin penetration enhancing the cosmetic effects. The incorporation of active molecules (permethrin and minoxidil) within the halloysite lumen was exploited for sustained hair treatment.[13] permethrin was employed as an anti-lice drug, while minoxidil was used for the alopecia treatment because of its vasodilating properties. According to their hydrophobic nature, both permethrin and minoxidil were loaded into halloysite modified with sodium dodecylsulfate. We studied the pH effect on the structural, thermodynamic, and colloidal properties of halloysite/keratin core−shell systems to optimize the efficiency of proposed hair photo-protection coatings
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