A new biocompatible nanocomposite as a promising constituent of sunscreens

• Hydroxyapatite–ascorbic acid nanocomposites were synthesized and characterized.
• The prepared composites had a stimulating effect on the skin cell viability.
• Reactive oxygen species decreased in UV-irradiated nanocomposite treated cells.
• Hydroxyapatite–ascorbic acid nanocomposites could be used in sunscreens.

Skin naturally uses antioxidants to protect itself from the damaging effects of sunlight. If this is not sufficient, other measures have to be taken. Like this, hydroxyapatite has the potential to be applied as an active constituent of sunscreens since calcium phosphate absorbs in the ultraviolet region (UV). The objective of the present work was to synthesize a hydroxyapatite–ascorbic acid nanocomposite (HAp/AA-NC) as a new biocompatible constituent of sunscreens and to test its efficiency with skin cell models.The synthesized HAp/AA-NC was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, absorption spectrophotometry and X-ray diffraction analysis. The protective effect of the construct was tested with respect to viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation of primary human dermal fibroblasts (SKIN) and human epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT). Both cell lines were irradiated with UV light, λmax = 254 nm with a fluence of 25 mJ cm− 2 to mimic the effect of UV radiation of sunlight on the skin. Results showed that HAp/AA-NC had a stimulating effect on the cell viability of both, HaCaT and SKIN cells, relative to the irradiated control. Intracellular ROS significantly decreased in UV irradiated cells when treated with HAp/AA-NC.We conclude that the synthesized HAp/AA-NC have been validated in vitro as a skin protector against the harmful effect of UV-induced ROS.