The Hindu : New Delhi News : Professor develops organic sunscreen

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Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Professor develops organic sunscreen

Parul Sharma

Sends samples for detailed evaluation

“Will also work as an anti-ageing remedy”
“Assessment likely by January next year”

NEW DELHI: A professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, who has been working on a project to produce organic sunscreens offering greater protection from ultraviolet rays of the sun recently sent his samples to a Swiss company for a detailed evaluation.

If the products get approved, there will soon be sunscreen creams and lotions that not only protect the skin from the more harmful ultraviolet A but will also work as an anti-ageing remedy.

“The organic sunscreens have been evaluated at our institution. We have sent them to the company in Switzerland that has done a preliminary evaluation and are now carrying out a more detailed evaluation,” said H. M. Chawla of the Department of Chemistry at IIT Delhi.

“After the evaluation, we will see if some modifications are needed or else it will be available in the shops after human testing. The Swiss company will complete its assessment by January next year,” added the professor who has been working on this project for the past three years.

The research for this project was carried out in “Sanmotech” (Synthesis and Natural Molecular Technologies) at IIT Delhi -- the first incubator in the country for chemicals. According to Prof. Chawla, most sunscreens lotions and cosmetics available in the market protect from UV B radiation (290-320 nanometres) and not UV A (320-400 nanometres).

“The UV A rays are larger in range. The UV B radiation is present only during the day, while the UV A is there throughout and hence much more harmful. The sunscreens will aim at total protection from both UV A and UV B radiations.”

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