Water transport along keratin fibers as measured by an electrical capacitance technique.

研制了一种新的实验装置，用于研究水沿由少量纤维组成的纤维束的沿着输运行为。为了检测沿着纤维行进的少量水，我们使用电容技术，并构造了一个装置，该装置包括专门设计的电放大器电路和电容器电极，样品纤维之间设置。对尼龙、聚酯（PET）和人造丝纤维的水传输行为进行了评价，发现当水传输沿着纺织纤维发生时，存在最小（临界）数量的构成纤维（CNF），这取决于纤维的类型。对于尼龙、PET和人造丝，这些CNF值分别为10、10和2。这些结果的基础上讨论的纤维的表面润湿性。对角蛋白（人发）纤维也进行了类似的实验，并且发现即使当纤维的数量大于10时，对于未处理的原始纤维也没有观察到水输送。另一方面，水的传输观察到的情况下，表面改性的头发纤维，这已被处理的氯化与DCCA试剂或物理摩擦与砂纸。这些结果进行了讨论的基础上的表面性质的变化的头发纤维，即，疏水性。通过改性，使原始头发表面变成亲水性的。

A new experimental apparatus has been developed for studying water transport behavior along fiber bundles which consist of a few textile fibers. In order to detect the small amount of water which travels along fibers, we used an electrical capacitance technique and constructed an apparatus which contains specially designed electric amplifier circuit and condenser electrodes between which sample fibers are set. Water transport behavior was evaluated for nylon, polyester (PET), and rayon fibers and it was found that there exists a minimum (critical) number of constituting fibers (CNF) when water transport occurs along textile fibers, depending on the type of fiber. These CNF values were 10, 10, and 2 for nylon, PET and rayon, respectively. These results were discussed on the basis of the surface wetness of the fibers. Similar experiments were also carried out for keratin (human hair) fibers, and it was found that water transport was not observed for untreated virgin fibers, even when the number of fibers was greater than 10. On the other hand, water transport was observed in the case of surface-modified hair fibers, which had been treated by chlorination with DCCA reagent or by physical rubbing with sandpaper. These results were discussed on the basis of changes in surface properties of hair fibers ; namely, the hydrophobic nature of. the surface of virgin hair had been changed into a hydrophilic one by the modification.