journal article·2026-04-06

Flame-Synthesized Zinc Oxide Tetrapods for Photoprotection in Sunscreen Formulations

Ajoa J. Addae, Jennifer Uyanga, Yogendra Kumar Mishra, Justin Caram, Paul S. Weiss

ACS Materials Letters· Volume 8· Issue 4
Publisher page

Abstract

ZnO nanoparticles are widely used in sunscreen formulations due to their strong light absorption in the ultraviolet (UV) and ease of synthesis. Here, we explore flame-synthesized tetrapod-shaped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructured particles (NPs) as UV-absorbing materials for sunscreen formulations. We compare their optical properties to conventional sol–gel-synthesized ZnO NPs. We then tested sunscreen formulations of each and measured and compared their optical, colloidal, and cosmetic properties. Notably, the test sunscreen containing mass-equalized tetrapodal ZnO absorbs in the UVB region and has a sun protection factor (SPF) value comparable to that of sol–gel-synthesized ZnO. Furthermore, colloidal and white cast evaluations of flame-synthesized tetrapodal ZnO demonstrated favorable properties for the storage and usage of sunscreen formulations.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Skin Protection and Aging · Wound Healing and Treatments · Luminescence Properties of Advanced Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of California Los Angeles

California NanoSystems Institute

Smart Materials, NanoSYD, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400 Sønderborg, Denmark

Department of Bioengineering

University of California, Los Angeles

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Funding

University of California, Los Angeles · Division of Graduate Education · Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education · Fabrikant Mads Clausens Fond · Sigma Xi

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