Supramolecular avobenzone sunscreen: a promising method for enhancing UV protection and photostability

The damages caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation to the skin have become a global public health concern. Long-term exposure to UV radiation can lead to serious consequences, such as sunburn, tanning, photoaging, and even skin cancer. As a key product for resisting UV damage, sunscreen has attracted much attention for its effectiveness and safety. Avobenzone is an important chemical sunscreen agent that is widely used in sunscreen products due to its excellent protective effect against long-wave UVA radiation. However, avobenzone has drawbacks such as poor photostability. Therefore, we linked avobenzone, ferulic acid, and ergothioneine together through intermolecular forces to form dual supramolecular avobenzone–ferulic acid–ergothioneine (AVB–FA–EGT). The dual supramolecular AVB–FA–EGT exhibited enhanced broad-spectrum UV resistance, photostability (up to 8 h), and sun-protection effect (sun protection factor increased by 15.93 times). In addition, the dual supramolecular AVB–FA–EGT exhibited strong antioxidant properties and biocompatibility, negligible permeability, and outstanding safety performance. Supramolecular avobenzone provides a new approach for the development of high-performance, bio-based, photoprotective sunscreens.