Hair Sample Collection
Hair Sample Collection - Related Videos
06:01
Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans
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Cited by 46 •
2018
Hair cortisol concentration analysis provides an alternative to traditional measures of cortisol; however, to collect hair samples from African Americans, scientists need to be culturally informed and competent. The purpose of this protocol is to demonstrate a culturally informed technique to collect hair samples for cortisol analysis from African Americans.
08:54
Validated LC-MS/MS Panel for Quantifying 11 Drug-Resistant TB Medications in Small Hair Samples
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Cited by 5 •
2020
Current methods of analyzing patients’ adherence to complex drug resistant-tuberculosis (DR-TB) regimens can be inaccurate and resource-intensive. Our method analyzes hair, an easily collected and stored matrix, for concentrations of 11 DR-TB medications. Using LC-MS/MS, we can determine sub-nanogram drug levels that can be utilized to better understand drug adherence.
08:23
Seawater Sampling and Collection
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Cited by 13 •
2009
This video documents methods for collecting coastal marine water samples and processing them for various downstream applications including biomass concentration, nucleic acid purification, cell abundance, nutrient and trace gas analyses.
07:40
A Noninvasive Hair Sampling Technique to Obtain High Quality DNA from Elusive Small Mammals
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Cited by 28 •
2011
We present a noninvasive sampling approach to efficiently collect hair samples from elusive small mammals, as shown for the American pika. We demonstrate the utility of this method by extracting DNA from sampled hair and amplifying several types of molecular markers commonly used in studies of wildlife ecology and conservation.
01:22
Hair Cells
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2019
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here. Hair cells are named after...
FAQs
Substances circulating in the blood can become incorporated into the hair shaft as it develops. Once present in the growing shaft, these substances may provide a record related to exposure over time rather than only reflecting a single sampling moment. This temporal feature makes hair useful when investigators or clinicians need information about chronic exposure, treatment adherence, or selected biological changes.
Hair can contain substances within the developing shaft while other material remains on its surface through external contamination. These two sources have different meanings, so analysts must control collection and handling and interpret results carefully. Without that distinction, a laboratory finding could be difficult to relate confidently to internal exposure or another biological process.
Analysts select a defined scalp region to make the sample location consistent and its interpretation more reliable. They also cut the hair close to the skin, where the shaft represents the portion most recently connected with growth. Standardizing both location and cutting position helps preserve a meaningful relationship between the specimen and the exposure record it may contain.
Hair results do not stand alone: their meaning depends on the substance measured, the possibility of external contamination, and the individual’s clinical context. Comparing findings with clinical history and other specimens helps determine whether they support chronic exposure, treatment adherence, or a selected disease-related change. This combined interpretation is especially important in medical assessment.
A standardized workflow begins by selecting a defined scalp region and cutting the hair close to the skin. The collector then documents the sample and controls its handling and storage before laboratory analysis. These steps create a traceable specimen and help preserve information relevant to testing for drugs, metabolites, hormones, or other biomarkers.
Documentation should identify how and where the specimen was collected, while handling and storage should be controlled from collection through laboratory analysis. These measures support specimen traceability and reduce uncertainty about how the sample was treated. They are particularly important because surface contamination can coexist with substances incorporated into the hair shaft.
Medical applications include assessing chronic exposure, examining treatment adherence, and investigating selected disease-related changes when appropriate biomarkers are available. Hair may be analyzed for drugs, metabolites, hormones, and other biological indicators. Results should be considered alongside clinical history and other specimens, because the laboratory finding gains meaning from the broader medical context.