Allergy to bisoctrizole

What is bisoctrizole and where is it found?

Bisoctrizole is a hybrid sun-blocking agent that is used in sunscreen products. It has both chemical absorbing and physical blocking properties and is able to protect against the full spectrum of ultraviolet rays. It both absorbs, reflects and scatters UV rays in the UVA and UVB range. It also has the added advantage of being photostable so does not degrade when exposed to sunlight. When combined with the UVB chemical absorbing sunscreen, octinoxate, it makes the product even more photostable. It also appears to be compatible with most other UVB and UVA sunscreen agents.

Bisoctrizole is approved for use in Europe and other parts of the world. It is marketed under the brand names Tinosorb M. It is currently not approved by the FDA so is not available in the USA.

What are the reactions to bisoctrizole allergy?

Because bisoctrizole is relatively new to the sunscreen market there are few reports or studies available documenting its adverse effects and long term use. Studies to date have shown it to have a good safety profile. It is not significantly absorbed into the skin and rarely caused skin irritation. Unlike some other organic sunscreen agents, in vitro studies show that bisoctrizole does not appear to have hormonal effects. Further long-term human safety studies are required.

Alternative names for bisoctrizole

• methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol
• 2,2′-methanediylbis[6-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenol]
• Tinosorb M

Further information

Formula: C₄₁H₅₀N₆O2

CAS number: 103597-45-1

Cross reactions: unknown

Draft 5 August 2012