title: TiO2-promoted mineralization of organic sunscreens in water suspension and sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles.
abstract: The photostability of the widely used UVB sunscreen agents 2'-ethylhexyl-2-cyano-3-phenylcinnamate (1), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (2), octyl salicilate (3), and 2'-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate (4) has been investigated under UVA irradiation in the absence and presence of TiO2, an inorganic filter commonly employed in combination with organic filters in sunscreen preparations. In the absence of TiO2, 1-3 are photostable and 4 undergoes the expected E-Z isomerization; the presence of TiO2 caused mineralization of the organic filters and, surprisingly, the process is noticeably faster in the presence of surfactant than in sunscreen and water suspensions. The results indicate that in water suspension, mineralization is likely to occur on or near the TiO2 particle surface; when the organic sunscreens are segregated in the micelle core, reactive radicals, produced during TiO2-promoted degradation of the micellar system, may participate in sunscreen degradation. In addition, a pre-fluorescent probe for carbon-centered radical detection, 4-(3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-quinolineoxy)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl free radical or QT (5), was employed to demonstrate that carbon-centered radicals are evolved during micelle degradation and may participate in the mineralization of sunscreens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation, University of Ottawa, 10 Marie Curie, Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Michelle N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Chrétien
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maretti
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Scaiano
mesh_terms: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008823:Micelles; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008823:Micelles; D013473:Sunscreening Agents; D014867:Water; C009495:titanium dioxide; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D014025:Titanium