Spectrofluorescent characterization of changes in hair chemistry induced by environmental stresses

Hair is frequently exposed to environmental stresses and chemical insults that result in damage to its internal structure and its outer cuticular components. Spectrofluorescence is a useful tool to monitor the health of biological tissues as it can measure the level of tryptophan (Trp), which is representative of protein integrity. In addition to Trp fluorescence, several other fluorophores are also present in hair and are believed to be attributed to kynurenenine, N-formylkynurenine, and 3-hydroxykynurenine, which are known metabolic and degradation products of Trp that are affected by environmental stresses normally experienced by hair. In this work, we were able to construct an endogenous fingerprint of fluorescent compounds present in hair by employing a range of excitation wavelengths from 270 nm to 450 nm with a resolution of 2 nm. As a result, we generated surface plots of fluorescence emission as a function of excitation and emission wavelengths (excitation-emission matrices). Thus, we were able to profile the levels of various structural molecules in hair before and after exposure to UV irradiation and thermal straightening irons as well as to chemical treatment such as bleaching and straightening.