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Serena COZZOLINO

Curriculum vitae

Bachelor’s degree: Chemistry - University of Naples "Federico II", Italy

Master’s degree: Chemical Sciences - University of Naples "Federico II", Italy

Adhesion and interaction with hair biomolecules - a cosmetic perspective

The aim of my project is to study the interaction of surfactants and polymers from haircare products with the hair surface. The hair has a complex structure, that can be described as a proteinaceous core covered by a lipid layer. The lipid type and density, though, vary along the fiber, and depending on whether the hair is "damaged' by weathering, bleaching or any similar process. The first part of my project, then, deals with the production of biomimetic surfaces, representative of the hair in the various conditions. This can be done by self-assembly on gold of alkylthiols with appropriate characteristics. I then study the adsorption of model actives to such surfaces, mainly using neutron reflectometry, thanks to the possibility of contrast variation by deuteration. This is particularly useful to study hierarchical adsorption from mixtures. The knowledge of this interaction is crucial for the haircare industry to modify the current formulations which had years of optimization, and the results will help to design products with improved properties or "greener" features.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847439.