Design of a hybrid nanoscaled skin photoprotector by boosting the antioxidant properties of food waste-derived lignin through molecular combination with TiO2 nanoparticles

Virginia Venezia; Giulio Pota; Rita Argenziano; Maria Laura Alfieri; Federica Moccia; Francesca Ferrara; Alessandra Pecorelli; Rodolfo Esposito; Rocco Di Girolamo; Gerardino D'Errico; Giuseppe Valacchi; Giuseppina Luciani; Lucia Panzella; Alessandra Napolitano

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135946

Design of a hybrid nanoscaled skin photoprotector by boosting the antioxidant properties of food waste-derived lignin through molecular combination with TiO₂ nanoparticles

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Sep 25;280(Pt 3):135946. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135946. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy.
² Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy.
³ Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy.
⁴ Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy.
⁵ Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy.
⁶ Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy; Plants for Human Health Institute, NC Research Campus, NC State University, 600 Laureate Wy., Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA; Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, South Korea.
⁷ Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39332570
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135946

Abstract

TiO₂ nanoparticles loaded with pistachio shell lignin (8 % and 29 % w/w) were prepared by a hydrothermal wet chemistry approach. The efficient interaction at the molecular level of the biomacromolecule and inorganic component was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Visible (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis. The synergistic combination of lignin and TiO₂ nanoparticles played a key role in the functional properties of the hybrid material, which exhibited boosted features compared to the separate organic and inorganic phase. In particular, the hybrid TiO₂-lignin nanoparticles showed a broader UV-Vis protection range and remarkable antioxidant performance in aqueous media. They could also better protect human skin explants from the DNA damaging effect of UV radiations compared to TiO₂ as indicated by lower levels of p-H2A.X, a marker of DNA damage, at 6 h from exposure. In addition, the samples could protect the skin against the structural damage occurring 24 h post UV radiations by preventing the loss of keratin 10. These results open new perspectives in the exploitation of food-waste derived phenolic polymers for the design of efficient antioxidant materials for skin photoprotection in a circular economy perspective.

Keywords: Hybrid materials; Pistachio lignin; Titanium dioxide.