Selecting zinc oxide nanoparticles for sunscreen lotions

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the contribution of zinc oxide nanostructures, with different sizes, as UVA and UVB photoprotective component for sunscreen lotion. The light-nanoparticle interaction was depicted using Mie theory. The ZnO-based sunscreen UV protection was quantified by the Sun Protection Factor, which reaches its maximum values for nanoparticles with diameter raging from 100nm to 160nm. Sun Protection Factor values were analyzed exploring two different ZnO concentrations (20% w/w and 25% w/w). The rationale use ZnO nanospheres, whit the identification of optimized nanostructure, can reduces the amount of nanostructured inputs in the cosmetic manufacturing industry.