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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