Raman Microspectroscopy of Hair Cuticle With Polarized Excitation: Problem of Protein Secondary and Tertiary Structure

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ABSTRACTRaman spectra of human hair cuticle measured in two experimental configurations with linearly polarized radiation focused on the lateral surface of the hair and on its cross section are compared. The bands at ~150, 220–230, 900, 935, 1321, 1338, and 1652 cm−1 are found to be polarization‐sensitive and assigned to the skeletal vibrations of α‐helices of hair keratins. However, different Raman spectra depending on the relative direction of signal collection can be obtained under identical polarization conditions for excitation. Several markers of the secondary structure of keratins (in particular, ~150, 935, and 1338 cm−1) may also be sensitive to the changes in the tertiary structure.