Abstract
In this chapter, measurements of the nail plate pH are reported. Measurements were conducted in vivo in 37 volunteers with healthy finger- and toenails, using a skin pH meter. The pH of unwashed and washed fingernails and the big toenails was measured, and the influence of washing, anatomical site (fingers/toes), side (left/right), finger digit (digits 1–5), and gender were determined. The pH of the nail plate surface was around 5. There was no significant difference between the sides, i.e., the right or left hand/foot, among the ten fingernails and between the two great toenails. However, toenails had a significantly higher pH than fingernails. Washing the nails caused an immediate, but transient, increase in pH, which was not sustained with time, and pH returned to prewashing levels within 20 min. In males, washing did not significantly influence finger- or toenail plate pH. In females, however, washed fingernails had a significantly higher pH than unwashed ones, while there was no difference in the pH of the toenails. The pH of the nail plate interior, measured after tape stripping, was found to be slightly lower than that at its surface.
The work described in this chapter was supported by the School of Pharmacy, University of London (now UCL School of Pharmacy).
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Murdan, S., Milcovich, G., Goriparthi, G.S. (2015). The pH of the Human Nail Plate. In: Humbert, P., Maibach, H., Fanian, F., Agache, P. (eds) Agache’s Measuring the Skin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_122-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_122-1
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