Assessment of the skin photoprotective capacities of an organo-mineral broad-spectrum sunblock on two ex vivo skin models

UV irradiation can cause cutaneous damage that may be specific according to the wavelength of UV rays. For example, damage from UVB irradiation manifests itself in the form of sunburn cells and enhancement of the expression of p53, while damage from UVA exposure results in an increase in the expression of vimentin. These reactions to UV irradiation were used in this work to evaluate the photoprotective capacities of two sunblock preparations that were applied to the surface of the skin. One sunblock preparation is a UVB absorber containing zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium oxide (TiO2) exclusively. The other sunblock preparation is a new organo-mineral sunblock containing Tinosorb M, OCM, ZnO and TiO2. Evaluation of the photoprotective capacities of both preparations on hairless rat skin and on in vitro reconstructed human epidermis revealed that they were effective in preventing UVB-induced damage. In contrast, only the organo-mineral sunblock was effective in the prevention of UVA-specific damage such as dermal alterations characterized by the expression of vimentin. Furthermore, our data support the fact that hairless rat skin and in vitro reconstructed human epidermis are a reliable basis for the evaluation of the photoprotective capacities of various sunscreens against UVB and UVA damage.