El Khatib Sami, Hammoudi Halat Dalal, Khaled Sanaa, Malki Ahmed, Alameddine Bassam
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese International University, Bekaa P.O. Box 146404, Lebanon.
Center for Applied Mathematics and Bioinformatics, Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), West Mishref 32093, Kuwait.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2025 Apr 27;18(5):632. doi: 10.3390/ph18050632.
Hair damage from chemical treatments, mechanical stress, and environmental factors can lead to significant degradation in hair quality, necessitating effective solutions for restoration. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate novel compounds for repairing hair damage through the chemical regeneration of disulfide bridges. Three novel thiol-reactive cross-linking agents (APA, STA, SAA) were synthesized and characterized. Their efficacy in repairing hair damage was evaluated through in vitro tensile strength tests on human hair fibers, comparing treated and untreated samples. Cysteine reactivity tests were also performed to assess the capability of these agents to restore disulfide bridges in hair keratin. The tensile strength tests revealed significant improvements in the mechanical properties of treated hair fibers compared to untreated samples. APA demonstrated the highest efficacy in restoring tensile strength and elasticity, showing higher performance in mechanical strengthening. The cysteine reactivity tests confirmed that APA could effectively re-establish disulfide bonds, particularly at higher temperatures. STA, while less effective than APA, showed substantial efficiency in restoring disulfide bonds. When compared to the reference agent, both APA and STA exhibited higher performance in tensile strength and cysteine reactivity, with APA showing the greatest improvement in mechanical properties. Our study successfully revealed the potential of the synthesized thiol-reactive cross-linking agents in repairing hair damage by chemically regenerating disulfide bridges. These findings offer a promising new direction for the development of advanced hair repair treatments in the cosmetic industry.
化学处理、机械应力和环境因素造成的头发损伤会导致头发质量显著下降，因此需要有效的修复方案。本研究的目的是通过二硫键的化学再生来开发和评估用于修复头发损伤的新型化合物。合成并表征了三种新型硫醇反应性交联剂（APA、STA、SAA）。通过对人发纤维进行体外拉伸强度测试，比较处理过和未处理的样品，评估它们修复头发损伤的功效。还进行了半胱氨酸反应性测试，以评估这些试剂在头发角蛋白中恢复二硫键的能力。拉伸强度测试表明，与未处理的样品相比，处理过的头发纤维的机械性能有显著改善。APA在恢复拉伸强度和弹性方面表现出最高的功效，在机械强化方面表现出更高的性能。半胱氨酸反应性测试证实，APA可以有效地重新建立二硫键，特别是在较高温度下。STA虽然比APA效果差，但在恢复二硫键方面表现出相当高的效率。与参考试剂相比，APA和STA在拉伸强度和半胱氨酸反应性方面均表现出更高的性能，其中APA在机械性能方面的改善最为显著。我们的研究成功揭示了合成的硫醇反应性交联剂通过化学再生二硫键修复头发损伤的潜力。这些发现为化妆品行业开发先进的头发修复疗法提供了一个有前景的新方向。
