Titanium Dioxide: A Spooky Halloween Tale!

31 October 2023

Boo, it’s Halloween! A time to celebrate all things spooky and scary and have fun while doing it. Let’s take a look at a mysterious material that plays a role in creating some of the creepiest effects in the world of theatre – titanium dioxide! A versatile material with many benefits, but also some risks – handle with caution.

Unveiling the Secrets: What is Titanium Dioxide?

Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring oxide of the metal, titanium. It is chemical compound, with the formula of one titanium atom and two oxygen atoms, usually white in appearance and is insoluble in water.1 It is a bewitching compound with the unique ability to reflect and scatter light, making it a popular ingredient for a wide range of applications, including in cosmetics – such as theatre blood, paints and food products.

Bleeding Shadows: How is Titanium Dioxide Used in Theatre Blood?

Theatrical blood, also known as stage or fake blood, is used as a blood substitute in theatrical or cinematic performances to create realistic scenes. One of the fake blood ingredients, titanium dioxide is used as an opacifier to make the blood less transparent and more visible, while also giving it a thicker texture to make it more realistic and easier to apply.3

Witches Brew: Spellbinding Applications of Titanium Dioxide?

Aside from theatrical blood, titanium dioxide is a versatile material with a wide range of applications across various industries and sectors, such as:

Cosmetics and personal care. Titanium Dioxide is used as a colourant, sunscreen agent, opacifier and thickener in various cosmetics, including toothpaste, lipsticks, creams, powders and shampoos. It also provides UV protection and anti-ageing benefits.4
Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Titanium dioxide is used as an excipient, coating agent, opacifier, or catalyst for various pharmaceutical and biotechnological products, including tablets, capsules, implants, vaccines and biosensors. An additional benefit, it can enhance delivery and efficacy of some biomolecules and drugs.5,6
Energy and environment. Titanium dioxide has uses as a photocatalyst to produce clean hydrogen fuel from water using solar energy. It can also be used to degrade organic pollutants in water and air using sunlight or UV light. Plus, it can enhance the efficiency and performance of solar cells and batteries.7
Food and beverages. Titanium dioxide can be used as a food colourant (E171) to give otherwise colourless or transparent food and beverages a white or opaque appearance. It can also improve texture and stability in food products. There is increasing concern and controversy over the use of E171 in food products and its potential impacts on health.8,9,10
Other uses of Titanium dioxide include to enhance opacity, brightness and longevity in paints and coatings, while helping to protect painted surfaces and improve resistance to fading discolouration and weathering. Titanium Oxide improves mechanical properties, heat resistance and colour stabilisation in plastics, adhesives and rubbers, as well as being an anti-static agent and UV stabiliser. Titanium dioxide enhances the brightness, whiteness, glossiness and opacity of paper products and the printability and ink absorption of paper surfaces.11

Blood Moon Magic: The Effects of Titanium Dioxide on Blood and Health

While titanium dioxide is a versatile and useful material, in more recent years, concerns have been increasing over the impact of titanium dioxide on our health, especially in its nanoparticle form. Due to their small size, nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the body. Some studies suggest titanium dioxide can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, cell and DNA damage and could be carcinogenic. These effects could be dependent on dosage, shape, size, coating and exposure route. However, other studies have found limited or no effects of titanium dioxide on health. The controversy around titanium dioxide has led to some counties banning the use of this product in certain applications.8,9,10 Further research is needed, and, in the meantime, it could be advisable to handle titanium dioxide with caution.

Ghostly Geographies: Which Countries Still Use Titanium Dioxide and Where is it Banned?

Its use as a food additive varies around the world. The USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classed titanium dioxide as generally recognised as safe (GRAS) at a maximum weight of 1% of food product weight. On the other hand, in 2001 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) updated its assessment of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive to cannot be considered safe due to genotoxicity concerns. This resulted in a complete ban of E171 by European Commission in August 2022, phasing out the use of this material in all food products in the EU market, except for medicinal products. Other countries have also taken measures to restrict or prohibit the use titanium dioxide as a food additive.8,9,10

The FDA also regulates the safety and effectiveness of sunscreen active ingredients, including titanium dioxide.8,9,10

Spooky Conclusion:

Titanium dioxides is a versatile and useful material, with benefits across many applications. However, it is also a material best handled with care and consideration in certain applications.

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