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Price Dynamics. The Titanium Dioxide price in United States decreased during December 2018 to 2,770 USD per metric ton, which represents a decline of 7% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, Titanium Dioxide prices in United States remained constant . Meanwhile, in Germany, the average price of Titanium Dioxide amounted to 3,720 USD per metric ton, from 3,460 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the Titanium Dioxide price in Germany is 11% higher than the price one month before.

Titanium dioxide is used in an enormous range of food products, which can feel jarring when looking at some of its other uses.

One of the key advantages of using anatase titanium dioxide in coatings is its superior UV resistance. This makes it ideal for outdoor applications where coatings are exposed to sunlight and other environmental factors that can degrade the finish over time. Anatase titanium dioxide helps to protect the underlying surface from UV rays, preventing fading and deterioration.

In vitro, in the hemocytes of the marine mussel Mytilus hemocytes, suspension of TiO₂ NPs (Degussa P25, 10 μg/ml) stimulated immune and inflammatory responses, such as lysozyme release, oxidative burst and nitric oxide production. Vevers and Jha demonstrated the intrinsic genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of TiO₂ NPs on a fish-cell line derived from rainbow-trout gonadal tissue (RTG-2 cells) after 24 h of exposure to 50 μg/ml. Reeves et al. demonstrated a significant increase in the level of oxidative DNA damage in goldfish cells, and suggested that damage could not repaired by DNA repair mechanisms. Another suggestion from the mentioned study was that hydroxyl radicals are generated also in the absence of UV light. It has been shown that fish cells are generally more susceptible to toxic/oxidative injury than mammalian cells.

If you want to avoid titanium dioxide, Stoiber and Faber urge consumers to try and avoid processed foods as best as you can.

What is an exposure route? 

Micronized titanium dioxide doesn’t penetrate skin so there’s no need to be concerned about it getting into your body. Even when titanium dioxide nanoparticles are used, the molecular size of the substance used to coat the nanoparticles is large enough to prevent them from penetrating beyond the uppermost layers of skin. This means you’re getting the sun protection titanium dioxide provides with no risk of it causing harm to skin or your body. The coating process improves application, enhances sun protection, and prevents the titanium dioxide from interacting with other ingredients in the presence of sunlight, thus enhancing its stability. It not only makes this ingredient much more pleasant to use for sunscreen, but also improves efficacy and eliminates safety concerns. Common examples of ingredients used to coat titanium dioxide are alumina, dimethicone, silica, and trimethoxy capryl silane.

Titanium dioxide holds exceptional significance as a white pigment due to its superior scattering capabilities, remarkable chemical stability, and non-toxic nature. Among all white pigments, it surpasses others in terms of its ability to scatter light effectively. Consequently, titanium dioxide stands as the most significant inorganic pigment, accounting for the highest quantity in usage. The majority part of the global production of ilmenite and rutile is dedicated to the production of TiO2 pigments. The remaining portion is utilized for the manufacturing of titanium metal and in the production of welding electrodes.

Titanium dioxide as used in sunscreens is commonly modified with other ingredients to ensure efficacy and stability. Examples of what are known as surface modifier ingredients used for titanium dioxide include stearic acid, isostearic acid, polyhydroxystearic acid, and dimethicone/methicone copolymer.

Due to its low binder requirement, lithopone provides paints with good flow and application properties. In the plastic processing industry, it is added to plastics to increase the plastic product’s UV tolerance, thus increasing its outdoor life. In the leather industry, it is one of the sulfide-based white pigments. It is also used in the production of linoleum floorings. 

There are many ways we’re exposed to titanium dioxide in our everyday life. Below are the most common ways we encounter titanium dioxide. 

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a multifunctional semiconductor that exists in three crystalline forms: anatase, rutile, and brookite. Owing to an appropriate combination of physical and chemical properties, environmental compatibility, and low production cost, polycrystalline TiO₂ has found a large variety of applications and is considered to be a promising material for future technologies. One of the most distinctive physical properties of this material is its high photocatalytic activity (Nam et al., 2019); however, more recently it has attracted growing interest because of its resistive switching abilities (Yang et al., 2008).

When used as a base or colorant in a product, titanium dioxide becomes handy in formulas meant to offer a lot of brightness and opacity. Titanium dioxide is so pigmented, in fact, that it’s used not only in white and pastel-colored products but also in darker shades, as well.