Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is commonly applied to enhance the white colour and brightness of food products. TiO2 is also used as white pigment in other products such as toothpaste. A small fraction of the pigment is known to be present as nanoparticles (NPs). Recent studies with TiO2 NPs indicate that these particles can have toxic effects. In this paper, we aimed to estimate the oral intake of TiO2 and its NPs from food, food supplements and toothpaste in the Dutch population aged 2 to over 70 years by combining data on food consumption and supplement intake with concentrations of Ti and TiO2 NPs in food products and supplements. For children aged 2-6 years, additional intake via ingestion of toothpaste was estimated. The mean long-term intake to TiO2 ranges from 0.06 mg/kg bw/day in elderly (70+), 0.17 mg/kg bw/day for 7-69-year-old people, to 0.67 mg/kg bw/day in children (2-6 year old). The estimated mean intake of TiO2 NPs ranges from 0.19 μg/kg bw/day in elderly, 0.55 μg/kg bw/day for 7-69-year-old people, to 2.16 μg/kg bw/day in young children. Ninety-fifth percentile (P95) values are 0.74, 1.61 and 4.16 μg/kg bw/day, respectively. The products contributing most to the TiO2 intake are toothpaste (in young children only), candy, coffee creamer, fine bakery wares and sauces. In a separate publication, the results are used to evaluate whether the presence of TiO2 NPs in these products can pose a human health risk.
That being said, titanium dioxide is particularly popular in concealers. As one of the most naturally opaque and pearly-white materials on earth, titanium dioxide has the ability to provide excellent coverage while brightening the skin, whether you’re dealing with blemishes, dark spots, acne, or dark circles under the eye.
The skin of an adult person is, in most places, covered with a relatively thick (∼10 μm) barrier of keratinised dead cells. One of the main questions is still whether TiO2 NPs are able to penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin. The majority of studies suggest that TiO2 NPs, neither uncoated nor coated (SiO2, Al2O3 and SiO2/Al2O3) of different crystalline structures, penetrate normal animal or human skin. However, in most of these studies the exposures were short term (up to 48 h); only few long-term or repeated exposure studies have been published. Wu et al.83 have shown that dermal application of nano-TiO2 of different crystal structures and sizes (4–90 nm) to pig ears for 30 days did not result in penetration of NPs beyond deep epidermis. On the other hand, in the same study the authors reported dermal penetration of TiO2 NPs with subsequent appearance of lesions in multiple organs in hairless mice, that were dermal exposed to nano-TiO2 for 60 days. However, the relevance of this study for human exposure is not conclusive because hairless mice skin has abnormal hair follicles, and mice stratum corneum has higher lipid content than human stratum corneum, which may contribute to different penetration. Recently Sadrieh et al. performed a 4 week dermal exposure to three different TiO2 particles (uncoated submicron-sized, uncoated nano-sized and coated nano-sized) in 5 % sunscreen formulation with minipigs. They found elevated titanium levels in epidermis, dermis and in inguinal lymph nodes, but not in precapsular and submandibular lymph nodes and in liver. With the energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis the authors confirmed presence of few TiO2 particles in dermis and calculated that uncoated nano-sized TiO2 particles observed in dermis represented only 0.00008 % of the total applied amount of TiO2 particles. Based on the same assumptions used by the authors in their calculations it can be calculated that the total number of particles applied was 1.8 × 1013 /cm2 and of these 1.4 x107/cm2 penetrated. The surface area of skin in humans is around 1.8 m2 and for sun protection the cream is applied over whole body, which would mean that 4 week usage of such cream with 5 % TiO2 would result in penetration of totally 2.6 × 1010 particles. Although Sadrieh et al.concluded that there was no significant penetration of TiO2 NPs through intact normal epidermis, the results are not completely confirmative.