
The additive goes into a lot of personal care products to whiten and brighten colors and to make them opaque, like toothpaste and makeup.
One of the most widely used food pigments is titanium dioxide, an odorless powder that enhances the white color or opacity of foods and over-the-counter products, including coffee creamers, candies, sunscreen, and toothpaste (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).
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Total content (as ZnS add ZnSO4)
Titanium dioxide can amplify and brighten white opacity because of its exceptional light-scattering properties. In food and drugs, these properties help to define colors clearly and can prevent products from UV degradation.
The morphology of vitaminB2@P25TiO2NPs is coherent with the description of Degussa P25 typical population. Size distribution histograms were made from manual measures of the nanoparticles observed in SEM micrographs using ImageJ®. This data showed that more than 70% is anatase (between 20 and 60 nm) with a minor amount of rutile characteristic bars (between 80 and 100 nm) and a small amount of amorphous phase (<40 nm) [36]. Further analysis of the same sample areas with an EDS probe demonstrated the presence of organic material composed of C and O (Fig. 2). This material was found homogeneously distributed on the surface of the different shapes of P25TiO2NP, not in the background, indicating a specific interaction that could be attributed to the functionalization of the P25TiO2NPs with vitamin B2.
Still many experts say the body of research does not support the current health concerns being expressed about titanium dioxide.
Research has shown that, when ingested as a food additive, titanium dioxide and its nanoparticles can impact, alter, and/or damage important protective bacteria in the gut, along with the metabolic pathways of gut bacteria.
CSPI’s Chemical Cuisine is the web’s definitive rating of the chemicals used to preserve foods and affect their taste, texture, or appearance. Besides titanium dioxide, the group recommends avoiding artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, as well as synthetic food dyes like Yellow 5 and Red 3. CSPI and others have recently asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban the latter dye in foods and ingested drugs because the FDA has already determined that it is a carcinogen unsafe for use in cosmetics.
What are the different forms of titanium dioxide in beauty and personal care products?
With the rise of nanotechnology, research in recent years has also shown the dangers of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, and their genotoxicity, which refers to a chemical agent’s ability to harm or damage DNA in cells, thus potentially causing cancer.
What does titanium dioxide do?
A 2022 review on past studies of titanium dioxide and rat lung cancer, for instance, said the original study was under extreme conditions and its effects were not replicated in other animal species. Additionally, the review concluded that the few studies which did directly focus on titanium dioxide's impact on humans did not end up showing any increased cancer risk.
TiO2 is typically thought of as being chemically inert, meaning it does not react with other chemicals and is, therefore, a stable substance that can be used in many different industries and for various applications.
In 2017, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) warned that they should revise their recommendations if any new evidence emerges in the future related to the potentially harmful effects of TiO2NPs used in a sunscreen formulation or if they can penetrate the skin. In fact, our work could contribute to this matter because it evaluated the skin penetration of a particular kind of TiO2NPs. [8]