Capturing UV Sunlight Using Hydrogen-Bond Networks: Organic Sun Screens for Skin Protection

Objective

Global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer due to climate change, is having an enormous impact on human society and economic development. In this Proof of Concept (PoC), we focus on a preventative measure for the rising cases of skin cancer induced by the increase in harmful exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, a factor that is having profound consequences at all levels of the economic sector. The most common measure used in the industry to protect the skin from UV rays, is through the application of sunscreens. The safety of the key chemical components of these sunscreens on both humans and marine life, are recurrently a matter of concern and debate in our society. The CUSHOSP PoC seeks to explore, through state-of-the-art generative artificial intelligence, the design of organic assemblies that will form the building blocks of next- generation eco-friendly sunscreens. The radical idea behind CUSHOSP involves the re- purposing of hydrogen-bonding networks (HBNs) into sunscreens to capture UV light and subsequently prevent skin damage. The PoC leverages the expertise and promising preliminary results that have been amassed through the ERC Consolidator Grant, on the chemical physics and spectroscopy of HBNs as optical probes that can emit visible light. Through an interdisciplinary team involving partnerships between computational and experimental scientists along with industry consultants, the PoC has the ambition to create a chemical formulation that will serve as a lead candidate for an organic eco-friendly sunscreen. The potential for technology transfer could create a completely new commercial market for sustainable, eco-friendly, and socio-economically accessible skin protection solutions with impact in both the skin protection and cosmetics industry. This, in turn, would enable more effective long-term planning to address the challenges posed by climate change in the coming decades.