Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 3: Biopolymers, Biomaterials and Bioinspired Functional Materials (joint session CPP/BP)

BP 3.2: Talk

Monday, March 16, 2020, 09:45–10:00, ZEU 114

Keratin films from human nail and hair as artificial nail plate model — •Kim Thomann, Andreas Späth, and Rainer H. Fink — Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

Human fingernails can be studied ex vivo only in form of clippings which offer limited insight as they do not necessarily reflect the behavior of the whole nail. Keratin films (KFs) can potentially serve as human fingernail substitute which is especially relevant for the medical and beauty sector. In order to model the nail's adhesive characteristics, films from keratin extracted from human hair and nails were produced [1]. With the fingernail serving as reference, the KFs were characterized with a number of methods, including AFM, contact angle (CA) measurements, XPS, ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. In terms of composition, KFs show a good resemblance. The topography however differs as the films are much smoother than the micro-structured nail. CA measurements revealed that the surface free energy was in the same range, but the polar component was much stronger for the KFs compared to the fingernail. KFs matching the nail's microstructure represents one approach to achieve a more satisfying model, potentially realized by micro-contact printing.

[1] Lusiana, et al., Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 2011, 78, 432