Mimicking Natural Human Hair Pigmentation with Synthetic Melanin

Claudia Battistella, Naneki C. Mccallum, Karthikeyan Gnanasekaran, Xuhao Zhou, Valeria Caponetti, Marco Montalti, Nathan C. Gianneschi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human hair is naturally colored by melanin pigments, which afford myriad colors from black, to brown, to red depending on the chemical structures and specific blends. In recent decades, synthetic efforts have centered on dopamine oxidation to polydopamine, an effective eumelanin similar to the one found in humans. To date, only a few attempts at polydopamine deposition on human hair have been reported, and their translation to widespread usage and potential commercialization is still hampered by the harsh conditions employed. We reasoned that novel, mild, biocompatible approaches could be developed to establish a metal-free route to tunable, nature-inspired, long-lasting coloration of human hair. Herein, we describe synthetic and formulation routes to achieving this goal and show efficacy on a variety of human hair samples via multiple spectroscopic and imaging techniques. Owing to the mild and inexpensive conditions employed, this novel approach has the potential to replace classical harsh hair dyeing conditions that have raised concerns for several decades due to their potential toxicity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1179-1188
Number of pages10
JournalACS Central Science
Volume6
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 22 2020

Funding

We thank A. L. Wheatley, A. Masters, N. Zang, and M. A. Fattah for the grey, red, brown, and purple hair samples used in this study, as well as Jerome Krause Fashion Hair in Evanston IL, for their kind help in choosing appropriate blond hair samples. We acknowledge Dr. R. Bleher for assistance with TEM hair sample preparation and M. E. Seniw for support with the tensile experiment. C.B. acknowledges the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for fellowship funding. This research was supported by a MURI through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA 9550-18-1-0142). This work made use of the Northwestern University Mouse Histology and Phenotyping Laboratory (NCI P30-CA060553 awarded to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center) and the BioCryo facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. It also made use of the Biological Imaging Facility at Northwestern University, graciously supported by the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, the NU Office for Research and the Rice Foundation, and the Central Laboratory for Materials Mechanical Properties supported by the IMRSEC program of the National Science Foundation (DMR-1720139) at the Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. We thank A. L. Wheatley, A. Masters, N. Zang, and M. A. Fattah for the grey, red, brown, and purple hair samples used in this study, as well as Jerome Krause Fashion Hair in Evanston, IL, for their kind help in choosing appropriate blond hair samples. We acknowledge Dr. R. Bleher for assistance with TEM hair sample preparation and M. E. Seniw for support with the tensile experiment. C.B. acknowledges the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for fellowship funding. This research was supported by a MURI through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA 9550-18-1-0142). This work made use of the Northwestern University Mouse Histology and Phenotyping Laboratory (NCI P30-CA060553 awarded to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center) and the BioCryo facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. It also made use of the Biological Imaging Facility at Northwestern University, graciously supported by the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, the NU Office for Research and the Rice Foundation, and the Central Laboratory for Materials Mechanical Properties, supported by the IMRSEC program of the National Science Foundation (DMR-1720139) at the Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • General Chemistry

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