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

Global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer due to climate change, is having anenormous 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 bythe increase in harmful exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, a factor that is havingprofound consequences at all levels of the economic sector. The most common measureused in the industry to protect the skin from UV rays, is through the application ofsunscreens. The safety of the key chemical components of these sunscreens on both humansand 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 artificialintelligence, 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 andsubsequently prevent skin damage. The PoC leverages the expertise and promisingpreliminary results that have been amassed through the ERC Consolidator Grant, on thechemical physics and spectroscopy of HBNs as optical probes that can emit visible light.Through an interdisciplinary team involving partnerships between computational andexperimental scientists along with industry consultants, the PoC has the ambition to createa chemical formulation that will serve as a lead candidate for an organic eco-friendlysunscreen.The potential for technology transfer could create a completely new commercial market forsustainable, eco-friendly, and socio-economically accessible skin protection solutions withimpact in both the skin protection and cosmetics industry. This, in turn, would enable moreeffective long-term planning to address the challenges posed by climate change in thecoming decades.