Characterization of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreen powder by comparing different measurement methods

Numerous consumer products, such as cosmetics, contain nanoparticles (NPs) of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) or zinc oxide (ZnO); however, this raises questions concerning the safety of such additives. Most of these products do not indicate whether the product includes NPs. In this study, we characterized metal oxide NPs according to size, shape, and composition as well as their aggregation/agglomeration characteristics. In order to comprehend quickly the characterization of metal oxide NPs, we employed single particle inductively coupled plasma (SP-ICPMS) to help quantify the size of metal oxide NPs; then, we use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to corroborate the results. The crystal size and structure was measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), there are two crystal phase of TiO 2 NPs in sunscreen powder showed in XRD. However, SP-ICPMS proved highly effective in determining the size of NPs, the results of which remarkably good agreement with the TEM measurements. Pre-treatment included a conventional copper grid (requiring sample dilution) to evaluate the size, shape and composition of primary particles or plastic embedding (without the need for sample dilution) to evaluate the aggregate/aggregation of native NOAAs. The proposed method is an effective and fast approach to the characterization of oxide NPs in cosmetic sunscreen powder. These findings outline an alternative approach to the analysis of NPs in powder-form matrix. •. Size parameters presented highly consistent between XRD, TEM, and SP-ICPMS. •. Plastic embedding in conjunction with TEM is a suitable approach to the characterization of aggregates/agglomerates of oxide NPs in powder-form matrix. •. Extension the stability of NPs in sunscreen products still a necessarily challenge for SP-ICPMS analysis, but compared to XRD and TEM, SP-ICPMS show more accurately and efficiently. •. To overcome the inherent limitations of TEM and XRD, SP-ICPMS analytical methods was the best candidate in NPs analysis which showed highly effective in characterizing the NPs in sunscreen powder. •. The quantity of NPs for test in SP-ICPMS was greater than TEM that make the size distribution of SP-ICPMS more convincing.