Sow, M. M. G., Lim, S. X., Zhang, Z., & Sow, C.-H. (2022). Microstyling of Biofluorescence in Human Hair as Sustainable and Functional Waste. Advanced Photonics Research, 2200161. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/adpr.202200161
Abstract:
Human hair is a huge untapped waste resource whose useful compounds require toxic and environmentally harmful chemicals to extract. Herein, we transformed the optical properties of human hair without using such chemicals, turning waste into a site-selective multicoloured display and a chemical sensor with a visual indicator through tuneable fluorescence. The tunable fluorescence colour, which includes both visible light and infrared components, is achieved using a scanning laser beam (microscopic) and hotplate heating at a low temperature of 360 oC for 3 mins (macroscopic, large-scale production). These fluorescing hair readily detects methylene blue molecules within a concentration range of 10-12 M to 10-21 M due to the formation of tryptophan by-products and electron contributing pyrrolic nitrogen. This work’s simple yet impactful consequence lays the foundation on which the industrial applicability of the functionalized human hair waste can be achieved, realizing a possible cyclical economy through sustainable resources.
License type:
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the Ministry of Education - ARC grant
Grant Reference no. : R-144-000-468-114/ A-0008380-00-00