Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Additional advisors: Yogesh K. Vohra, Renato P. Camata, Herbert C. Cheung, Craig A. Elmets. Description based on contents viewed June 23, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Graduation date: 1995

Solar ultraviolet radiation is known to have deleterious effects on human skin and is a major cause of skin cancer. Therefore, the topical application of sunscreen preparations has gained wide usage for skin protection. These preparations typically contain a variety of chemical absorbers that absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation and physical blockers that scatter, absorb and reflect UV light. The efficacy of sunscreens can be estimated by the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) which depends on the UV filters present in the formulations. However, although some of these commercial sunscreens have beneficial effects, they can also have undesirable results. It is known that the sunscreens undergo electronic excitation when exposed to UV light which may make them susceptible to photochemical modification. The production of reactive intermediates (e.g. free radicals) and stable photoproducts, either due to photoisomerisation or photofragmentation is a major concern because these species may be toxic and may lead to a reduction in efficacy. Hence a study of the photochemistry of these chemical absorbers found in commercial sunscreens is of great importance. Photostability and broad-spectrum studies of some Australian commercial sunscreen products were undertaken by means of spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods. The sunscreen products dissolved in methanol solutions were irradiated using simulated solar radiation. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify and quantify the active chemical ingredients. UV spectrophotometry was used to monitor the spectral absorbance before and after UV exposure of the formulations. Our results show that some of the evaluated photoactive chemical absorbers currently used in sunscreens are unstable upon UV radiation. This was mainly due to either photoisomerisation and/or photofragmentation of some active chemical ingredients. An examination of the photochemistry of 2-ethylhexyl-p-methoxycinnamate (2- EHMC), an ultraviolet B absorber that was found in all the suncare products investigated in this study was undertaken. Irradiation of dilute (~ 10-6 M) solutions of EHMC with wavelengths of light greater than 300 nm results in trans - cis photoisomerisation leading to a photostationary equilibrium mixture. However, pure or concentrated solutions of 2-EHMC upon prolonged irradiation showed additional photoproducts. These were isolated by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, which was used to identify them as [2 +2] cycloadducts of 2-EHMC. There are 13 possible dimers formed via a [2+2] cycloaddition reaction mechanism across the ethylenic double bond, however only the stable and energetically favoured isomers were isolated. In addition, ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to investigate the structures and the transition states of the various dimers resulting from the cycloaddition reactions. Geometry optimizations and energy calculations were performed with the Gaussian 98 program, using the B3LYP density functional and 6-31+G (d) basis set. GaussView was used to visualize the transition state structures. The theoretical calculations predicted the most stable dimer forms. The trans-trans configuration at the cyclobutane ring of the 2-EHMC adduct gave relatively more stable photoproducts. The theoretical results have been confirmed by HPLC isolation experiments, which together with the UV spectra of the different products; verify the presence of the different conformers of 2-EHMC. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Chemistry. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on April 10, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Protection against the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation is of increasing importance due to the depletion of stratospheric ozone, which shields the earth from harmful UVC rays (in the range 200-280 nm) and some UVB rays (in the range 280-290 nm). In addition, as the skin is repeatedly exposed to solar radiation, the possibility exists that the incidence of skin cancer is enhanced. This has led to the increased use of commercial sunscreens, which apart from their benefits, also have undesirable effects such as photodegradation and skin penetration. We therefore studied the photodegradation of two sunscreen absorbers that are used in most sunscreen formulations. The combination of the UVB filter, 2-ethylhexyl-p-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), and the UVA filter, avobenzone (AVO), are commonly used in sunscreen products. These two filters are known to exhibit differing photostabilities in different media. The aim of this project was to investigate their photochemical behaviour in a polar and a non-polar solvent and to identify the UV-induced breakdown products. Methanol was chosen as the polar medium and cyclohexane as the non-polar medium. The sunscreen filters were irradiated either singly or in combination in the two solvents with wavelengths greater than 300 nm. The irradiated samples were analysed by UV-spectrophotometry, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). The effects of direct irradiation with UVB and UVA light, quenchers and photosensitisers were also examined. EHMC is supplied commercially as the trans-isomer and upon irradiation photoisomerises, in both methanol and cyclohexane, to its cis-isomer. AVO is photostable in methanol but photodegrades in cyclohexane. This behaviour is also evident when mixtures of the two filters are irradiated. The loss in absorbance of both EHMC and AVO was monitored by UV-spectrophotometric analysis. Since EHMC does not absorb UV light at the wavelength of maximum absorbance of AVO, a method to quantify the amount of EHMC and AVO present in the mixture was devised. In order to identify the degradation products, HPLC and GC techniques were implemented. The photoproducts formed in the polar methanolic medium were separated and quantified by HPLC analysis. Gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) was used to separate the photoproducts formed in the non-polar cyclohexane medium. Gas chromatography with mass-spectral detection (GC-MS) was used to identify the photoproducts formed upon irradiation of AVO and to show that UVA irradiation of AVO photosensitises the isomerisation of EHMC. The rate of a photochemical reaction depends upon a number of factors including the number of photons absorbed by sunscreen absorbers. Chemical actinometry was used to determine the number of photons absorbed by EHMC, AVO and the mixture of the two in methanol and cyclohexane. The number of photons absorbed by AVO in cyclohexane was used to determine the quantum yield for the photodegradation of AVO. We also determined the rate constants for EHMC photoisomerisation and AVO photodegradation. Finally, we investigated the effect of sunlight on commercial sunscreens containing EHMC and AVO. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-06-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:53:26Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 manaia_eb_me_arafcf.pdf: 933779 bytes, checksum: d46491f2fe3590f23084880ccff5dbe8 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / A incidência de câncer de pele em todo o mundo cresce exponencialmente principalmente devido à exposição freqüente à radiação ultravioleta (UV). O uso de protetor solar é a medida mais eficaz para a sua prevenção. O dióxido de titânio (TiO2) é um filtro inorgânico que atua espalhando, refletindo e absorvendo a radiação UV, é fotoestável, hipoalergênico, entretanto, deixa a pele com aspecto esbranquiçado dependendo do tamanho da partícula. Hoje em dia há uma procura grande por produtos multifuncionais e o uso de estruturas líquido-cristalinas vem crescendo cada vez mais por promover a liberação controlada de ativos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver sistemas multifuncionais líquido-cristalinos contendo nanopartículas de TiO2 transparentes capazes de agir como fotoprotetores e de liberar terpinem-4-ol (terpeno com atividade antioxidante) de forma controlada prevenindo e/ou tratando o câncer de pele. O teste de citotoxicidade mostrou que as nanopartículas de TiO2 obtidas através do processo sol-gel não foram citotóxicas para as duas linhagens de células testadas (queratinócitos de pele humana – HaCaT e fibroblastos de pulmão humano – MRC-5), evidenciando o uso deste material nos humanos sem causar danos. O potencial zeta das nanopartículas indicou que entre pH 5 e 7, que não é agressivo para pele humana, é possível evitar aglomeração das nanopartículas por estas apresentarem cargas superficiais significativas. Os dados de espalhamento de raios X a baixo ângulo e microscopia de luz polarizada mostraram que foi possível manter a estrutura líquido-cristalina das formulações com a presença de nanopartículas de TiO2 e terpinem-4-ol. O teste de liberação in vitro das formulações contendo 1 e 5% de terpinem-4-ol mostraram que o sistema líquido-cristalino controlou... / The incidence of skin cancer growth exponentially in all the world mainly due to the frequent ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposition. The sunscreen use is one of the efficient manners to prevent the skin cancer. The titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an inorganic filter which works scattering, reflecting and absorbing the UV radiation, it is photostable, hypoalergenic, but it presents a whiteness appearance depending on the particle size. Nowadays there is a high demand for multifunctional products and the use of liquid crystal has been increasing because it promotes active controlled delivery. The propose of this work is to develop liquid crystalline multifunctional systems with transparent TiO2 nanoparticles able to photoprotect the skin and release in a controlled manner terpinem-4-ol (a terpen with antioxidant activity) to prevent and/or treat the skin cancer. The citotoxicity assay showed that TiO2 nanoparticles obtained by sol-gel process weren´t cytotoxics to the two cell lines tested (human skin keratinocites – HaCaT and human lung fibroblasts – MRC-5), evidencing the use of this material on the humans without dangers. The nanoparticles zeta potential indicated that at pH about 5 and 7, pH that is not irritative to the human skin, it´s possible to prevent nanoparticles aggregation due to their significative superficial charges. The small angle scattering X rays and light polarized microscopy data showed that it is possible to maintain the liquid crystalline structure of the formulations with the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles and terpinem-4-ol. The in vitro terpinem-4-ol release assay of the formulations containing 1 and 5% of terpinem-4-ol showed the controlled release of the liquid crystalline systems (liberation at about 13% in 12 hours), being zero order the best mathematical model that fit the release profile, indicating... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-13T14:50:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-05-19Bitstream added on 2014-08-13T17:59:46Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000773729.pdf: 3475538 bytes, checksum: 018064f79c4dfcc8527c0ab0dfe5c68d (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A exposição à radiação ultravioleta (UV) é um dos principais fatores que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de câncer de pele e fotoenvelhecimento. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a obtenção de novos filtros solares com capacidade ampliada de proteção contra radiação UVA e UVB associada a propriedades antioxidantes, obtidos através da estratégia de hibridação molecular, entre filtros existentes (avobenzona e metoxicinamato de octila) e produtos naturais (resveratrol e ácido ferúlico). Foram sintetizados, isolados e caracterizados oito compostos inéditos obtidos através de hibridação molecular: (E)-4-hidroxi-N'-(4-hidroxibenzilideno)benzidrazida (molécula I), (E)-N'-(3,5-diidroxibenzilideno)-4-hidroxibenzidrazida (molécula II), (E)-4-(terc-butil)-N'-(3,5-diidroxibenzilideno)benzidrazida (molécula III), (E)-4-(terc-butil)-N'-(4-hidroxibenzilideno)benzidrazida (molécula IV), (E)-4-hidroxi-N'-((E)-3-(4-metoxifenil)alilideno)benzidrazida (molécula V), (E)-4-(terc-butil)-N'-((E)-3-(4-metoxifenil)alilideno)benzidrazida (molécula VI), (E)-4-hidroxi-N'-((E)-3-(4-hidroxi-3-metoxifenil)alilideno)benzidrazida (molécula VII) e (E)-4-(terc-butil)-N'-((E)-3-(4-hidroxi-3-metoxifenil)alilideno)benzidrazida (molécula VIII). O composto VIII apresentou-se como o mais termoestável, decompondo-se acima de 295°C. Na avaliação da atividade antioxidante, os compostos I, IV, VII e VIII apresentaram maior atividade, sendo os compostos VII e VIII semelhantes aos padrões ácido ferúlico, t-resveratrol e ácido ascórbico. Os resultados obtidos no ensaio de atividade fotoprotetora demonstraram capacidade protetora contra radiação UVA para os compostos I, IV, V, VI, VII e VIII, sendo todos comparáveis ao padrão t-resveratrol. O composto VI apresentou-se como o mais ativo quanto à capacidade fotoprotetora UVA sendo, inclusive, superior ao padrão t-resveratrol. Os compostos II e III foram classificados como potenciais filtros UVB e ... / The exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the mainly factor to develop skin cancer and photoaging. This work aimed to obtain new sunscreens with enhance abilities to protect against UVA and UVB radiation associated to antioxidant properties, obtained by molecular hybridization strategy among existing filters (avobenzone and methoxycinnamate) and natural products (resveratrol and ferulic acid). Eight new compounds were synthesized, isolated and characterized by molecular hybridization: (E)-4-hydroxy-N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula I), (E)-N'-(3,5-dihydroxybenzylidene)-4-hydroxybenzohydrazide (molécula II), (E)-4-(tert-butyl)-N'-(3,5-dihydroxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula III), (E)-4-(tert-butyl)-N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula IV), (E)-4-hydroxy-N'-((E)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)allylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula V), (E)-4-(tert-butyl)-N'-((E)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)allylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula VI), (E)-4-hydroxy-N'-((E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)allylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula VII) and (E)-4-(tert-butyl)-N'-((E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)allylidene)benzohydrazide (molécula VIII). Compound VIII was presented as the most thermostable, showing decomposition temperature above 295°C. Compounds I, IV, VII and VIII presented more antioxidant activity than the other compounds analysed. The compounds VII and VIII were similar to ferulic acid, t-resveratrol and ascorbic acid. Compounds I, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII had abilities to protect against UVA radiation, and all of these products were similar to t-resveratrol pattern. The VI molecule had the highest photoprotection activity against UVA radiation, and it was more effective than t-resveratrol pattern. The II and III compounds were classified as UVB filters and they were more effectiveness than t-resveratrol. Compounds I, III, V and VII showed inhibitory ability for the enzyme tyrosinase, respectively, ...

In recent years, the studies of emerging contaminants have received growing concerns due to their ambiguous fate and unclear effect to the water environment, aquatic organisms or even human. With the development of the analytical techniques, the increase detection rate of emerging contaminants is at a rapid pace that many of their fates and influence are still pending investigation. In this work, a group of organic UV filters, which is one of the vital categories of emerging contaminants are monitored. Organic UV filters, used as the major components in not only sunscreens but also other cosmetics products, have a widespread usage and large production volume for more than 80 years, causing the massive input towards the aquatic environment. To first investigate their environmental behaviours and impacts, the regional distribution of total nine commonly used organic UV filters was monitored along the southeast coastline of Shenzhen, which is the most rapid developing city in China with large population with the consideration of seasonal variation. In addition, the Shenzhen reservoirs, as the major sources of drinking water in Shenzhen, was also monitored together with the city tap water. The results indicated the extensive distribution of certain kinds of UV filters with obvious seasonal pattern, which may cause medium to high risk to aquatic organisms. And the incomplete removal of them in drinking water supply system resulting trace amount of UV filters to be detected in city tap water, may cause a general exposure of these UV filters towards all populations. Therefore, a quantitative analytical method for simultaneous detecting multiple classes UV filters in human urine samples has been developed and applied on more than 100 real samples for determining internal exposure. Similar UV filters were also detected in human urine samples compared with surface water while one of the most commonly used organic UV filters, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate exhibited much lower detection rate and concentration in human urine. Then, biotransformation of Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate was examined in rats for the purpose of selecting suitable metabolites as exposure biomarkers. Several metabolites have been identified in urine and plasma by UHPLC-QTOF-MS. Two of its metabolites, 4-methoxycinnamic acid and 4' -methoxyacetophenone, were unambiguously identified by comparing with commercial standard. Excretion trend of Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and its two metabolites confirmed that most of the parent compound were quickly metabolized and excreted through urine samples. Herein, these three targeted compounds were further evaluated in two populations - female university students and school-aged children. Although Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate was not detected in 49 female university students, significant internal correlations were discovered among these three analytes in school-aged students and extensive detection of metabolites instead of parent compound was also confirmed. The third part of this thesis is to comprehensively monitor the internal exposure of UV filters and their metabolites, and also discover their potential adverse health impacts - obesity in Shanghai children and adolescents. Urinary concentration of certain kinds of UV filters were significantly higher in girls than in boys. However, further associations have been found with urinary Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate concentration and reduced adiposity outcomes only in boys, indicating it may have the potential to influence the metabolism in male population during growing stage. In short, a complete study of organic UV filters is presented in this thesis, from their environmental occurrence to metabolism in animal models, and finally to human exposure and potential health impacts. The widespread exposure and significant associations with adiposity outcomes can form a solid base for future comprehensive risk assessment of UV filters towards human health

Commercial sunscreen products are used to protect the skin against hannful ultraviolet (UV) radiation that can induce skin cancer at high dosage. These products contain UV filters that can reflect, scatter or absorb UV light. The chemical UV filters responsible for the absorption of UV radiation can be photochemically modified and as a result reduce the efficacy of the sunscreen formulation. This study focused on the possible use ofplant polyphenols as potential stabilisers of photo-unstable sunscreen chemical absorbers. The photo-instability of some sunscreen absorbers results in radical formation; this prompted the use of the plant, Sutherlandia microphylla (Cancer Bush plant), as a potential photostabiliser. The Cancer Bush plant is used by the indigenous people of South Africa to treat AIDS and cancer. The radical scavenging properties of polyphenolic compounds present in the plant are possibly responsible for the plant's anti-tumour and anti-IDV properties. Therefore, these Cancer Bush polyphenols could possibly be used to photostabilise photo-unstable sunscreen absorbers. Potential polyphenolic photostabilisers from the Cancer Bush plant were extracted by means of various polyphenolic extraction methods. These extracts were analysed by gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UV spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The phenolic content and the antioxidant activity ofthese extracts were investigated by means of the Folin-eiocalteu reagent (FCR) and the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assays respectively. Polyphenols were also extracted from various Rooibos teas and compared with those extracted from the Cancer Bush plant. Both the Cancer Bush and various Rooibos tea extracts were found to contain simple phen~lics and potential polyphenolic compounds. The Cancer Bush extracts as well as the Rooibos tea extracts together with the specific polyphenols, epicatechin and rutin, were assessed for their ability to photostabilise sunscreen absorbers. The photostability of the chemical absorbers in the absence and in the presence of the polyphenol extracts was investigated by UV spectroscopy, by monitoring their absorption spectra during irradiation with solar-simulated radiation. These extracts inhibited the photodegradation of the absorber avobenzone. The photostability of avobenzone is solventIntroduction III dependent hence the investigations were carried out in three solvents, namely, cyclohexane, ethyl acetate and dimethylsulfoxide. Additionally, the cause ofthe instability ofavobenzone in these solvents was investigated by means of DV spectroscopy, HPLC and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The oxygen dependency of the photo-instability of avobenzone was also determined. The photo-instability of avobenzone was found to occur as a result of photoisomerisation and!or photodegradation, depending on the solvent. Avobenzone photoisomerised extensively in dimethylsulfoxide and photodegraded appreciably in cyclohexane, whereas both processes occurred to a similar extent in ethyl acetate. Photoisomerisation only occurred in the presence of oxygen whereas photodegradation occurred irrespective of oxygen. The Cancer Bush and various Rooibos tea extracts as well as other polyphenols photostabilised avobenzone in ethyl acetate and dimethylsulfoxide but not in cyclohexane. This photostabilisation effect was potentially due to the radical scavenging ability of polyphenols which prevented the oxygendependent photoisomerisation, but not the oxygen independent photodegradation process from occurring. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-Chemistry-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005

The topical application of sunscreens is widely practised to protect healthy and photosensitive skins from the sun. The benzophenone-derived sunscreens, e.g. 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzophenone-5-sulphonic acid (or benzophenone-4) and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzophenone (or benzophenone-3), were ranked as the second and third most frequently used sunscreens, respectively, by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996. These sunscreens are categorised as being 'safe' and 'effective'. However, it is well known that the parent compound, benzophenone, undergoes rapid hydrogen abstraction reactions on irradiation and is an extremely powerful radical generator. In addition, benzophenone has been shown to be a potent photosensitizer of thymine dimers in deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA). More astounding to the sunscreen industry is the recent discovery that a group of non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) having the benzophenone backbone, e.g. ketoprofen, not only form thymine dimers when irradiated with DNA in vitro, but also photosensitize double stranded supercoiled DNA making it prone to single-strand break formation. Both these lesions, if unrepaired, may contribute to mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, inherited disease and eventually cell death. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a group of benzophenone-derived sunscreen agents has the ability to photosensitize the cleavage of DNA, whereby supercoiled DNA is converted to the relaxed circular and linear forms. The group of UV absorbers investigated in this study included benzophenone-4, benzophenone-3 , 2,4 dihydroxybenzophenone (or benzophenone-l), 2,2'-dihydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxy benzophenone sulphonic acid (or trade name Uvinul DS49) and 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulphonic acid (or trade name Eusolex 232). For comparison the parent compound benzophenone and the NSAID ketoprofen, a well-known photocleaver, were also studied. Buffered aqueous solutions of the benzophenones were irradiated in the presence of DNA at wavelengths greater than 300 nm with an Osram 500 W/2 high-pressure mercury lamp in conjunction with a 10 mm thick Pyrex filter. The irradiated samples were analysed for DNA cleavage by agarose gel electrophoresis and for DNA binding by fluorescence spectroscopy. The photostability of the UV absorbers was also investigated. In addition, computational studies were conducted to obtain the lowest energy geometrical structures of these UV absorbers and hence determine if intercalation of these UV absorbers with DNA was possible. From the photostability experiments conducted, it is apparent that the benzophenone-based UV absorbers were stable to photodecomposition when irradiated with UV light. They behaved in a manner different from their parent compound benzophenone, and from ketoprofen, where substantial photodegradation occurred upon UV irradiation. This is indicative of the rapid photoreactivity of the benzophenone backbone. The relative photostability of the UV absorbers was not anticipated and was attributed to the substituents present on the benzophenone backbone. The agarose gel electrophoresis experiments however clearly showed that benzophenone, ketoprofen, benzophenone-l, Uvinul DS49 and Eusolex 232 cleave ?X174 DNA when irradiated with UV light at wavelengths greater than 300 nm, while benzophenone-3 and benzophenone-4 did not. For these UV absorbers with the exception of benzophenone-3 and benzophenone-4, the number of single strand breaks in the DNA increased compared to when it was irradiated in their absence. In addition, the supercoiled DNA was converted to the relaxed circular and linear forms, the latter of which was undetected in the absence of the UV absorbers. Binding of benzophenone, ketoprofen, benzophenone-l and Uvinul DS49 to calf thymus DNA was also detected by the fluorescence spectroscopy technique. However, this was not observed for Eusolex 232, benzophenone-3 and benzophenone-4, since they did not compete with ethidium bromide for DNA binding sites. Where DNA cleavage did occur, the mechanism of this interaction had to be determined hence the motivation for the computational studies. From computational studies using PM3 semi- empirical calculations, it was determined that the benzophenone-based UV absorbers investigated, apart from Eusolex 232, displayed non-planar geometrical structures. This indicated that DNA intercalation of these sunscreen agents with DNA would at best be very limited, since only one half of the molecule could possibly interact with the bases of DNA. For benzophenone, ketoprofen, benzophenone-l and Uvinul DS49, photosensitised type I and type II processes involving triplet energy transfer reactions has been identified in literature as being responsible for DNA cleavage. It was determined by ab initio calculations that Eusolex 232 exists in a planar structure unlike the other UV absorbers mentioned above that were non- planar. It was concluded that although Eusolex 232 has the ability to intercalate with the base pairs of DNA, it does not do so, as shown by its lack of binding to calf thymus DNA by the fluorescence spectroscopy study. Literature alludes to photooxidation by singlet oxygen in single stranded DNA via the type II reaction and type I electron transfer reactions in double stranded DNA as the mechanism responsible for DNA cleavage induced by Eusolex 232. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.