MBBT or “Bisoctrizole” in nano form
By the AVICENN team – Last updated November 2020
Nano MBBT
Methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol (MBBT), otherwise known as “Bisoctrizole” (CAS number: 103597-45-1), is a UV filter authorized in nano form at the European level within the framework of the Cosmetics Regulation at a concentration of 10 % m/m (except for applications that may result in end-user lung exposure through inhalation of this substance). It is used in the BASF product Tinosorb®1MCf. BASF welcomes EU approval of nano-sized UV filter in cosmetics, BASF, July 30, 2018.
According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity2Cf. bilan R-nano 2019, Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, June 2020, between 10 and 100 tons of nano MBBT were officially imported or manufactured in France in 2018. This range is not very precise and should be considered as an indication only because the quantities registered in the French R-nano register are below the quantities actually present on the French market, as many nanomaterials escape declaration.
There are strong uncertainties about the risks associated with MBBT, which is insoluble and persistent/bioaccumulative, leading the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) to place nano MBBT at the top of the list of riskiest nanomaterials in the cosmetics sector in October 2020.
Any questions or comments? This information sheet compiled by AVICENN is intended to be completed and updated. Please feel free to contribute.
Other news on the topic
Our information sheets to go further
Upcoming Nano Agenda
- Webinar presenting the example guide produced by NanoMesureFrance, to illustrate the difficulties encountered in dimensional analysis of particles by electron and atomic force microscopy.
- Organizers: Eurotox
- Speaker: Carola Voss (Helmholtz Zentrum München)
- Registration form
- MOOC from April 28 to June 22, 2025
- Public who has carried out two or more years of scientific studies at university, as well as professionals or the self-educated who want to discover, learn more or acquire specific knowledge in some area of nanoscience.
- Organizer: Paris Saclay University
- Course paln:
- Theme 1: Introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology – Let’s lay the foundations and discover the key concepts of this field.
- Theme 2: How can you “see” and fabricate nano-objects? We will discover what tools are used to observe matter at these scales and what techniques the scientist can use to make objects that are only a few billionths of a meter in size.
- Theme 3: Nanochemistry – From carbon to porous solids and nanoparticle synthesis; applications of the field.
- Theme 4: Nanophysics – Quantum effects and nanoelectronic devices; optical nanostructures: the confinement of light and emission; nanosensors; applications of the field.
- Theme 5: Nanobiology, Nanomedicine, Micro-nanofluidics – The study and manipulation of molecules; treating diseases with nanomedicine; the on-chip manipulation of liquids for medical diagnosis; applications of the field.
- Theme 6: Nanoscience and Society: Are Nanotechnologies dangerous? Societal, health and environmental issues.
- Website: www.fun-mooc.fr/en/courses/understanding-nanosciences
- E-learning program: awareness-raising for personnel who come into contact with nanomaterials during research, formulation, production, maintenance, cleaning, upkeep, etc., as well as safety coordinators or engineers, facility managers, heads of laboratories where nanoparticles are handled.
- Organizers: INSTN Grenoble (CEA)
- On the program:
- 1 – Introduction, definition and characteristics of nanomaterials
- 2 – Toxicity of nanomaterials: the state of knowledge
- 3 – Metrology and characterization of nanomaterials
- 4 – Prevention and protection against nanomaterials in the workplace
- 5 – Quiz: assessment of learning outcomes
- The 2-hour course can be viewed for one month from the date of registration.
- Website: https://instn.cea.fr/…risques-lies-aux-nanomateriaux…
File initially created in November 2020
Notes and references
- 1MCf. BASF welcomes EU approval of nano-sized UV filter in cosmetics, BASF, July 30, 2018
- 2Cf. bilan R-nano 2019, Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, June 2020