Kemira launches new addition to UV-Titan sunscreen family

UV-Titan M265 is a surface treated, highly hydrophobic, ultra-fine TiO2 which is designed as an all round UV filter for a wide variety of sun care and skin care products.

The sunscreen has also been designed to meet formulator requirements for easy to blend ingredients, as it is both easy to disperse in non-polar oils and silicones.

Enhanced UV protection Indeed, the dispersion of the product was particularly important to its development, having been designed to have narrow particle size imparting what the company describes as great skin feel and transparency that helps to enhance UV protection.

"UV-Titan M265 is extremely photo and chemically stable; not breaking up molecules by forming free radicals in application", said Leena Kujansivu, the company's product manager - specialty products.

"Triethoxy caprylylsilane enables a chemically bonded coating on TiO2 particles, which provides superior hydrophobic surface properties.

"The stability of the coating is remarkable with no residual ethanol, and, compared to hydrogen reactive silicone, it has no residual hydrogen potential."

Kemira has developed the latest addition to the Titan family in response to formulators requirements for increasingly effective and functional sunscreen ingredients.

Launch answers needs for functional sunscreens Not only do sunscreens now have to incorporate highly effective UVA and UVB sunscreens, they also have to be long-lasting, which means that they won't be affected by swimming or sweat.

Aiming to corner the market for Titanium Dioxide-based ingredients, the Kemira Group bought US-based fine chemicals provider TRI-K in April last year and changed its name to Kemira Specialty in January of this year Kemira's specialty division is particularly noted for its UV-Titan products, a nanotechnology-based product that is now widely used in sunscreens for a variety of personal care products.

The Kemira group is a global chemicals giant with three other divisions besides the specialties business - coatings, pulp and paper and water treatment.

In 2006 it had a turnover of approximately €2.5bn and around 9,000 staff on its payroll.