Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Feb 22;15(3):263.
doi: 10.3390/ph15030263.

UV Filters: Challenges and Prospects

Ana Jesus  1   2 , Emília Sousa  3   4 , Maria T Cruz  5   6 , Honorina Cidade  3   4 , José M Sousa Lobo  1   2 , Isabel F Almeida  1   2
Affiliations
Review

UV Filters: Challenges and Prospects

Ana Jesus et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

The use of sunscreens is an established and recommended practice to protect skin from solar-induced damage. Around 30 UV filters can be used in sunscreen products in the European Union, which ought to follow the requirements of the regulation 1223/2009 to ensure their efficacy and safety for humans. Nevertheless, low photostability and putative toxicity for humans and environment have been reported for some UV filters. Particularly, the negative impact in marine organisms has recently raised concern on the scientific community. Therefore, it is important to develop new UV filters with improved safety profile and photostability. Over the last two decades, nearly 200 new compounds have revealed promising photoprotection properties. The explored compounds were obtained through different approaches, including exploration of natural sources, synthetic pathways, and nanotechnology. Almost 50 natural products and around 140 synthetic derivatives, such as benzimidazoles, benzotriazoles, hydroxycinnamic acids, xanthones, triazines, among others, have been studied aiming the discovery of novel, effective, and safer future photoprotective agents. Herein, we provide the reader with an overview about UV filters' challenges and prospects, offering a forward-looking to the next-generation of UV filters.

Keywords: UV filters; challenges; natural products; photostability; prospects; synthetic derivatives; toxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Interconversion between E and Z isomers when 3-(4-methylbenzylidene) camphor (4-MBC) (7) is exposed to UV radiation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanisms that could be triggered when avobenzone (11) is exposed to UV radiation, (1) photoisomerisation between di-keto and enol tautomers, or/and (2) formation of two radicals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interconversion between E and Z isomers when EHMC (21) is exposed to UV radiation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Resume of the main systems affected by UV filter’s toxicity.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chemical skeleton and values of biological activity assessed for the synthetic derivatives reported in the literature.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jussila A., Huotari-Orava R., Ylianttila L., Partonen T., Snellman E. Narrow-band ultraviolet B radiation induces the expression of beta-endorphin in human skin in vivo. J. Photochem. Photobiol. B. 2016;155:104–108. doi: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2016.01.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dahmane R., Pandel R., Trebse P., Poljsak B. Sun Exposure: Risk Factors, Protection Practices and Health Effects. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.; New York, NY, USA: 2015. The role of sun exposure in skin aging; pp. 1–40.
    1. Labille J., Catalano R., Slomberg D., Motellier S., Pinsino A., Hennebert P., Santaella C., Bartolomei V. Assessing Sunscreen Lifecycle to Minimize Environmental Risk Posed by Nanoparticulate UV-Filters—A Review for Safer-by-Design Products. Front. Environ. Sci. 2020;8:00101. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00101. - DOI
    1. Ma Y., Yoo J. History of sunscreen: An updated view. J. Cosmet. Dermatol. 2021;20:1044–1049. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pawlowski S., Petersen-Thiery M. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Volume 94. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 2020. Sustainable sunscreens: A challenge between performance, animal testing ban, and human and environmental safety; pp. 185–207.

LinkOut - more resources