Chemical oxidation and DNA damage catalysed by inorganic sunscreen ingredients
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO 2) has been noted (US Federal Register, 43FR38206, 25 August 1978) to be a safe physical sunscreen because it reflects and scatters UVB and UVA in sunlight. However, TiO 2 absorbs about 70% of incident UV, and in aqueous environments this leads to the generation of hydroxyl radicals which can initiate oxidations. Using chemical methods, we show that all sunscreen TiO 2 samples tested catalyse the photo‐oxidation of a representative organic substrate (phenol). We also show that sunlight‐illuminated TiO 2 catalyses DNA damage both in vitro and in human cells. These results may be relevant to the overall effects of sunscreens.
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Sunlight illumination of MRC-5 fibroblasts preincubated with TiO2 generates DNA strand breaks and/or alkali-labile sites.
“Sunlight illumination of MRC-5 fibroblasts preincubated with TiO 2 was found to generate DNA strand breaks and ⁄ or alkali-labile sites as inferred from alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (199).”
From Photoinduced Damage to Cellular DNA: Direct and Photosensitized Reactions<sup>†</sup> (2012) · cites this paper as [199]
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- Authors
- Dunford, R., Salinaro, A., Cai, L., Serpone, N., Horikoshi, S., Hidaka, H., & Knowland, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Concordia University (CA)
- Meisei University (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Knowland, John
- Venue
- FEBS Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1997-11-24
- Volume
- 418
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 87-90
- ISSN
- 0014-5793 (ISSN-L)
- 1873-3468
- OpenAlex
- W1990495056
- Cited by
- 540
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 7.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- FEBS Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Carcinogens and Genotoxicity Assessment
- Keywords
- titanium dioxide, sunscreen ingredients, photocatalysis, hydroxyl radicals, phenol oxidation, DNA damage, UV-B radiation, UVA, inorganic nanoparticles, human cells, phototoxicity
- MeSH terms
- Catalase, Cell Line, DNA, DNA Damage, Humans, Oxidation-Reduction, Photochemistry, Plasmids, Sunlight, Sunscreening Agents, Titanium, Ultraviolet Rays, Zinc Oxide, Phenol
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