Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are commonly used in sunscreens as part of the formulation to block the sun’s harmful UV rays. As the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in consumer products has increased, concern has risen as to the health and environmental effects of nanoparticles. Since sunscreens contact skin and wash off in water, the TiO2 NPs can find their way into biological and environmental systems. As a result, there is a need to measure both the size and size distribution of these nanoparticles in sunscreens in order to assess their impact on human health and the environment.
Recently, single particle ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS) has been gaining attention as a way to both measure and characterize nanoparticles. Advantages of SP-ICP-MS include speed and the amount of information which can be gained from the analysis. This work demonstrates the ability of the NexION® SP-ICP-MS to easily and rapidly measure TiO2 NPs in sunscreen.