Size analysis of nanoparticles in commercial O/W sunscreens

Nanoparticles are employed in a variety of applications and especially in cosmetics the issue is discussed whether or not they can be regarded as safe. Analysis of nanosized structures and morphology studies prove to be difficult in many aspects. Nevertheless, there is the demand for new, cost-effective and simple yet reliable methods of analysis to assess the occurrence of nanoparticles in cosmetics in order to evaluate the possible risks conditioned by nanosized structures. In the present study, a simple method was developed to extract particles from commercial sunscreens that are O/W emulsions to measure the particle size of suspended material by laser diffraction. A following, simple calculation based on the specific surface area and particle size distribution allows distinguishing agglomerated nanoparticles from larger particles and thereby contributes well to the tools in analysis of cosmetic products. It was possible to create a simple, fast and cost-effective method to obtain an overview whether nanoparticles are included in a cosmetic product or not.