Titanium dioxide nanoparticles may accumulate and cause DNA damage

Metal detectors can not only detect a variety of metals at various depths depending on the size of the object, but some can even detect the differences between various metals. This differentiation is done by measuring the deflection of the magnetic field generated by the metal detector. Titanium is often used in medical implants, so patients with implants that contain titanium often have to make this known to airport security personnel in order to pass inspection.

Lithopone

2. Lithopone is widely used in the plastic industry.

The integrity of surface skin cells was evaluated with and without solar simulated irradiation. The integrity of the stratum corneum was significantly lower in individuals treated with P25TiO₂NPs under the light in comparison to the ones that received the functionalized nanoparticles. Cell membrane suffering is evident (Fig. 9), and it is in accordance with the ROS levels and macromolecule oxidation found in vitro for the irradiated P25TiO₂NPs. Disruption of the superficial skin layer was observed in all animals treated with no functionalized nanoparticles, under irradiation. This data expands the findings by the group of Professors Fubini and Fenoglio, who showed that P25TiO₂NPs could impact the lipid structure at the top few microns of the stratum corneum [55]. Control skin under irradiation and without any topic formulation did not show changes in cell structure.

Moreover, sustainability is becoming increasingly important in manufacturing practices. Companies that prioritize environmentally-friendly processes and ethically sourced materials can enhance their brand image and meet the rising consumer demand for sustainable products. While cheap titanium dioxide manufacturers may offer lower prices, businesses should also evaluate their commitment to sustainable practices and social responsibility.

That came after a 2021 report from an expert panel at the European Food Safety Authority, which reviewed data on titanium dioxide safety. The panel said it couldn’t rule out concerns that the food additive might be able to damage DNA and possibly lead to cancer. They explained that after you eat something that has titanium dioxide in it, your body absorbs low levels of its particles – but the particles can build up as you eat more foods with this additive.

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Lithopone is used in water-based paints because of its excellent alkali resistance. It is also used as a whitener and reinforcing agent for rubber and as a filler and whitener for paper.

Europe

Cosmetics

The basic scenario of resistive switching in TiO₂ (Jameson et al., 2007) assumes the formation and electromigration of oxygen vacancies between the electrodes (Baiatu et al., 1990), so that the distribution of concomitant n-type conductivity (Janotti et al., 2010) across the volume can eventually be controlled by an external electric bias, as schematically shown in Figure 1B. Direct observations with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed more complex electroforming processes in TiO₂ thin films. In one of the studies, a continuous Pt filament between the electrodes was observed in a planar Pt/TiO₂/Pt memristor (Jang et al., 2016). As illustrated in Figure 1C, the corresponding switching mechanism was suggested as the formation of a conductive nanofilament with a high concentration of ionized oxygen vacancies and correspondingly reduced Ti³⁺ ions. These ions induce detachment and migration of Pt atoms from the electrode via strong metal–support interactions (Tauster, 1987). Another TEM investigation of a conductive TiO₂ nanofilament revealed it to be a Magnéli phase Ti_nO_2n−1 (Kwon et al., 2010). Supposedly, its formation results from an increase in the concentrations of oxygen vacancies within a local nanoregion above their thermodynamically stable limit. This scenario is schematically shown in Figure 1D. Other hypothesized point defect mechanisms involve a contribution of cation and anion interstitials, although their behavior has been studied more in tantalum oxide (Wedig et al., 2015; Kumar et al., 2016). The plausible origins and mechanisms of memristive switching have been comprehensively reviewed in topical publications devoted to metal oxide memristors (Yang et al., 2008; Waser et al., 2009; Ielmini, 2016) as well as TiO₂ (Jeong et al., 2011; Szot et al., 2011; Acharyya et al., 2014). The resistive switching mechanisms in memristive materials are regularly revisited and updated in the themed review publications (Sun et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2020).

Barium sulfide is produced by carbothermic reduction of barium sulfate. Zinc sulfate is obtained from a variety of zinc products, often waste, by treatment with sulfuric acid.

Le lithopone a été découvert dans les années 1870 par DuPont. Il a été produit par la Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company, entre autres¹. Il se faisait en différents grades, en fonction de la teneur en sulfure de zinc. Les qualités « bronze » et « or » contenaient 40 à 50 % de sulfure de zinc, ce qui les rendaient particulièrement couvrantes². Bien que ce pigment ait atteint son pic de popularité autour de 1920, il s'en produisait encore annuellement plus de 220 000 tonnes en 1990. Il est principalement utilisé dans les peintures, les pâtes et les plastiques³.

Food safety experts in the European Union (EU) have recently updated their safety assessment of TiO₂ as a food additive. In Europe, TiO₂ is referred to as E171, in accordance with European labelling requirements for food additives. The EU expert panel took into account toxicity studies of TiO₂ nanoparticles, which to this point had not been considered relevant to the safety assessment of TiO₂ as a food additive.  

But in the U.S., titanium dioxide is found all over the grocery shelves. Candy like Skittles, Starbursts, and Jell-O, gum like Trident White peppermint gum and Mentos Freshmint Gum, cake products like Duncan Hines Creamy Vanilla Frosting, and Nabisco Chips Ahoy! cookies are just a few of the myriad food items that contain the additive.