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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Pharmacologic Induction of Epidermal Melanin and Protection Against Sunburn in a Humanized Mouse Model
Published on: September 7, 2013
Ultrafast Photoprotecting Sunscreens in Natural Plants
Lewis A Baker, Michael D Horbury, Simon E Greenough
1Chaire Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), AgroParisTech , F-51100 Reims, France.
Abstract:
We explore the ultrafast photoprotective properties of a series of sinapic acid derivatives in a range of solvents, utilizing femtosecond transient electronic absorption spectroscopy. We find that a primary relaxation mechanism displayed by the plant sunscreen sinapoyl malate and other related molecular species may be understood as a multistep process involving internal conversion of the initially photoexcited 1(1)ππ* state along a trans-cis photoisomerization coordinate, leading to the repopulation of the original trans ground-state isomer or the formation of a stable cis isomer.
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