Mesoporous Silica-Supported TiO₂ Composite Sunscreen: Combining Low Whitening, Reduced Photoactivity, and Favorable Cytocompatibility
4 affiliations
- 1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458, China
- 2School of Pharmacy GDPU, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- 3Guangdong B.C. Biotech Company Limited, Zhongshan 528400, China
- 4Biomedical Research Institute, Hunan University of Medicine, Huaihua 418000, China
Abstract
Titanium dioxide, a traditional physical sunscreen agent, has long faced persistent challenges related to light transmission (manifesting as whitening and an unnatural white cast on the skin), high photocatalytic activity, and cytocompatibility concerns. In this work, a composite sunscreen material, mesoporous silica (MSN)@TiO₂, was designed and synthesized by loading titanium dioxide (TiO₂) onto dendritic mesoporous silica. Leveraging the high transparency of dendritic mesoporous silica, MSN@TiO₂ exhibits 30% higher visible light transmittance than commercially available titanium dioxide. In addition, encapsulation within the silica carrier reduces the photocatalytic activity of MSN@TiO₂ to one-seventh of that of commercially available titanium dioxide. Furthermore, we evaluated the cytocompatibility of MSN@TiO₂. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay results demonstrate that MSN@TiO₂ has a less pronounced effect on L929 cells proliferation compared with commercial TiO₂, indicating favorable L929 cell-based cytocompatibility. This strategy demonstrates that MSN@TiO₂ combines a natural appearance with low photocatalytic activity, offering distinct advantages over conventional titanium dioxide in composite sunscreen materials.
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BibTeX
@article{zheng2026mesoporous,
title = {{Mesoporous Silica-Supported TiO₂ Composite Sunscreen: Combining Low Whitening, Reduced Photoactivity, and Favorable Cytocompatibility}},
author = {Haijun Zheng and Yanmiao Li and Kaixin Wu and Ting Ouyang and Nian Fu and Qinfang Zheng and Zhiyong Cai and Yi Liu},
journal = {Cosmetics},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/cosmetics13050226},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics13050226},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mesoporous Silica-Supported TiO₂ Composite Sunscreen: Combining Low Whitening, Reduced Photoactivity, and Favorable Cytocompatibility
AU - Haijun Zheng
AU - Yanmiao Li
AU - Kaixin Wu
AU - Ting Ouyang
AU - Nian Fu
AU - Qinfang Zheng
AU - Zhiyong Cai
AU - Yi Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Cosmetics
DO - 10.3390/cosmetics13050226
UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics13050226
AB - Titanium dioxide, a traditional physical sunscreen agent, has long faced persistent challenges related to light transmission (manifesting as whitening and an unnatural white cast on the skin), high photocatalytic activity, and cytocompatibility concerns. In this work, a composite sunscreen material, mesoporous silica (MSN)@TiO₂, was designed and synthesized by loading titanium dioxide (TiO₂) onto dendritic mesoporous silica. Leveraging the high transparency of dendritic mesoporous silica, MSN@TiO₂ exhibits 30% higher visible light transmittance than commercially available titanium dioxide. In addition, encapsulation within the silica carrier reduces the photocatalytic activity of MSN@TiO₂ to one-seventh of that of commercially available titanium dioxide. Furthermore, we evaluated the cytocompatibility of MSN@TiO₂. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay results demonstrate that MSN@TiO₂ has a less pronounced effect on L929 cells proliferation compared with commercial TiO₂, indicating favorable L929 cell-based cytocompatibility. This strategy demonstrates that MSN@TiO₂ combines a natural appearance with low photocatalytic activity, offering distinct advantages over conventional titanium dioxide in composite sunscreen materials.
SN - 2079-9284
ER -