Hydration dynamics of human fingernails: An ellipsometric study by B. Schulz and others 2026-11-05
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Verified locator: Primary initial-only first byline B. Schulz; Physical Review E 65(6), 061913, June 2002; DOI 10.1103/PhysRevE.65.061913. Abstract: spectroscopic ellipsometry measures changes in complex refractive index during hydration and dehydration, interpreted with more weakly and more tightly associated water in keratin.
Primary Abstract, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12188765/ : changes of complex refractive index during hydration and dehydration revealed characteristic time domains of approximately 4, 150 and 3,200 minutes, interpreted with more weakly and more tightly associated water in keratin. These are study-specific conditioning responses, not measurements of matrix production or universal nail-growth constants.
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