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Review
. 2020 Jun 4;10(6):1110.
doi: 10.3390/nano10061110.

Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products-What Do We Know about Their Safety?

Joanna Musial  1 , Rafal Krakowiak  2 , Dariusz T Mlynarczyk  2 , Tomasz Goslinski  2 , Beata J Stanisz  1
Affiliations
Review

Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products-What Do We Know about Their Safety?

Joanna Musial et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a material of diverse applications commonly used as a food additive or cosmetic ingredient. Its prevalence in products of everyday use, especially in nanosize, raises concerns about safety. Current findings on the safety of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) used as a food additive or a sunscreen compound are reviewed and systematized in this publication. Although some studies state that TiO2 NPs are not harmful to humans through ingestion or via dermal exposure, there is a considerable number of data that demonstrated their toxic effects in animal models. The final agreement on the safety of this nanomaterial has not yet been reached among researchers. There is also a lack of official, standardized guidelines for thorough characterization of TiO2 NPs in food and cosmetic products, provided by international authorities. Recent advances in the application of 'green-synthesized' TiO2 NPs, as well as comparative studies of the properties of 'biogenic' and 'traditional' nanoparticles, are presented. To conclude, perspectives and directions for further studies on the toxicity of TiO2 NPs are proposed.

Keywords: E171; exposure; nanoparticles; titania; titanium(IV) oxide; toxicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Various applications of titanium dioxide/titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2/TiO2 NPs).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bandgap in a semiconducting material. A valence band electron (e−) is excited to the conduction band upon light absorption (of ≥ bandgap energy) and leaves a hole in the valence band (h+) (according to [4,13]).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photo-excitation of TiO2 and generation of reactive oxygen species (according to [4,13]).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Routes of exposure and distribution of TiO2 NPs in the human body.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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