Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Physiological Preparation of Hair Cells from the Sacculus of the American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Published on: March 17, 2017
Charge density alterations in human hair fibers: an investigation using electrostatic force microscopy
V M Longo1, V F Monteiro, A S Pinheiro
1CMDMC/LIEC/DQ/DEMA/UFSCar, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP 13565-905, Brazil. valerialongo@liec.ufscar.br
Abstract:
A new method for high-resolution analyses of hair surface charge density under ambient conditions is presented in this paper. Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) is used here to analyze changes in surface charge density in virgin hair, bleached hair, and hair treated with a cationic polymer. The atomic force microscopy technique is used concomitantly to analyze morphological changes in hair roughness and thickness. The EFM images depict exactly how the polymer is distributed on the surface of the hair fiber. The EFM's powerful analytical tools enabled us to evaluate the varying degrees of interaction between the hair fiber surface charge density and the cationic polymer. The surface charge density and the polymer's distribution in the hair fibers are presented in the light of EFM measurements.
Related Concept Videos
Electric Charges
The English physicist William Gilbert studied the phenomenon of static electricity in...
Accessory Structures of the Skin: Hair and Hair Follicles
Hair is a keratinous filament growing out of the epidermis. It is primarily made of dead, keratinized cells. Hair strands originate at the epidermal penetration called the hair follicle. The hair shaft is the part...
Studying the Cytoskeleton
The Electrical Double Layer
Current Density
Capillary Electrophoresis: Instrumentation

