New Nanoparticle Sunblock Is Stronger and Safer, Scientists Say

sciencehabit writes: What's the best sunscreen? It's a question that troubles beachgoers, athletes, and scientists alike. Mark Saltzman, who falls into the last category, was so concerned by the time his third child was born that he wanted to engineer a better sunblock. "The initial goal was to make a sunblock that lasted longer," says Saltzman, a biomedical engineer at Yale University. "But as I read more about sunscreen, I became aware of people's concerns about safety." Now, he and his colleagues have unveiled the results of their research: a nanoparticle-based sunblock, which they say is longer lasting and less likely to leak into the body than traditional sunscreen.

Comments

Nano Zinc Oxide is not new

[YesIAmAScript]

It's been around for a while. It has the block power of zinc oxide without being white.

http://ec.europa.eu/health/sci...

This article is not clear about which nanoparticles they are using, but we already have effective sunblocks using nanoparticles.

Best sunscreen...

[glaciator]

...is plant fiber, twisted into strings and tightly woven. AKA clothes. White cotton or linen, preferably. Ask the desert people their opinion about nanoparticles.

Re:What's wrong with titanium dioxide?

[Misagon]

Titanium Dioxide is a common additive as white colouring in foodstuffs such as cookies and candy. For instance, it is sometimes used to make sugar glazing on German lebkuchen cookies whiter.
In Europe it is often in ingredients lists under the number E-171 rather than its full name.

Titanium Dioxide is one of the pigments that are suspected of leaking into the body, both from food and from its use in sunscreen.
Therefore, it is something that I look for and avoid.