Citando:
"Numerous sunscreens are available in the market today but most of them protect well only against UVB rays, leaving UVA protection limited. This is problematic because UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin, causing damage at the cellular level.
To address this issue, researchers have uncovered a compound that can be added to sunscreens that offers unexpectedly strong protection against UVA exposure, particularly within the cell where most of the damage related to UVA occurs.
Concentrations of free iron are highest within the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. However, free iron turns into a catalyst for toxic reactive oxygen species when exposed to UVA, facilitating damage to cellular components that lead to increased risks of cancer and cell death.
The custom-designed iron chelator called mitoiron claw that the researchers developed attaches to iron atoms like a claw (hence its name), safely binding excess free iron and keeping them from reacting once exposed to UVA rays.
The researchers carried out tests involving human skin cells exposed to UVA at a rate equivalent to 140 minutes of uninterrupted sun exposure and saw that mitoiron claw-treated cells received complete protection against cell death."
