Cited by 163Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesEnvironmental Toxicology and EcotoxicologyMicroplastics and Plastic Pollution

Impact of inorganic UV filters contained in sunscreen products on tropical stony corals (Acropora spp.)

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Corinaldesi, Cinzia, Marcellini, Francesca, Nepote, Ettore, Damiani, Elisabetta, Danovaro, Roberto·2018·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Most coral reefs worldwide are threatened by natural and anthropogenic impacts. Among them, the release in seawater of sunscreen products commonly used by tourists to protect their skin against the harmful effects of UV radiations, can affect tropical corals causing extensive and rapid bleaching. The use of inorganic (mineral) filters, such as zinc and titanium dioxide (ZnO and TiO 2) is increasing due to their broad UV protection spectrum and their limited penetration into the skin. In the present study, we evaluated through laboratory experiments, the impact on the corals Acropora spp. of uncoated ZnO nanoparticles and two modified forms of TiO 2 (Eusolex®T2000 and Optisol™), largely utilized in commercial sunscreens together with organic filters. Our results demonstrate that uncoated ZnO induces a severe and fast coral bleaching due to the alteration of the symbiosis between coral and zooxanthellae. ZnO also directly affects symbiotic dinoflagellates and stimulates microbial enrichment in the seawater surrounding the corals. Conversely, Eusolex® T2000 and Optisol™ caused minimal alterations in the symbiotic interactions and did not cause bleaching, resulting more eco-compatible than ZnO. Due to the vulnerability of coral reefs to anthropogenic impacts and global change, our findings underline the need to accurately evaluate the effect of commercial filters on stony corals to minimize or avoid this additional source of impact to the life and resilience ability of coral reefs.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.108

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  • ZnO causes bleaching in Acropora spp., while modified ZnO particles (Eusolex® T2000 and OptisolTM) considerably diminish bleaching.

    “An example was the test performed with the coral species Acropora spp. exposed to ZnO (35) and modified particles of ZnO (35), which confirmed the bleaching caused by this specific UV filter. The modified particles (Eusolex® T2000 and Optisol™) considerably diminished the bleaching of the coral, which proved the damaging effect caused by the non-modified ZnO (35) [59].”

    From UV Filters: Challenges and Prospects (2022) · cites this paper as [59]

    The Results and discussion section reports that ZnO caused rapid bleaching in Acropora spp., while Eusolex T2000 and Optisol caused no visible bleaching. However, it identifies Eusolex T2000 and Optisol as forms of TiO2, not modified ZnO particles. (LLM, conf=0.92)

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Authors
Corinaldesi, C., Marcellini, F., Nepote, E., Damiani, E., & Danovaro, R.
Affiliations
Marche Polytechnic University (IT)
Corresponding author
Corinaldesi, Cinzia
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-10
Volume
637-638
Pages
1279-1285
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2804245091
Cited by
163
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 6
FWCI
11.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Università Politecnica delle Marche (Università Politecnica delle Marche) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Università Politecnica delle Marche (Università Politecnica delle Marche) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
Keywords
sunscreen UV filters, zinc oxide nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, coral bleaching, Acropora, coral-zooxanthella symbiosis, coral reef pollution, coral reef conservation, microbial enrichment
MeSH terms
Animals, Dinoflagellida, Environmental Monitoring, Seawater, Sunscreening Agents, Symbiosis, Titanium, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Anthozoa, Coral Reefs

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