The paints and coatings industry reduced their offtakes which coupled with the drop in the crude oil prices and availability of cheaper imports from the Asian market led to the fall in titanium dioxide prices. The demand decreased significantly in the fourth quarter along with the slow manufacturing due to high inflation rates keeping the price trends of the commodity in the negative zone.

Scientists analyzed research that examined how titanium dioxide nanoparticles interact with the brain for a 2015 review published in Nanoscale Research Letters. The researchers wrote: “Once the TiO2 NPs are translocated into the central nervous system through [certain] pathways, they may accumulate in the brain regions. For their slow elimination rates, those NPs could remain in the brain zones for a long period, and the Ti contents would gradually increase with repeated exposure.” After reviewing dozens of studies, the scientists concluded: “Long-term or chronic exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles could potentially lead to the gradually increased Ti contents in the brain, which may eventually induce impairments on the neurons and glial cells and lead to CNS dysfunction as a consequence.”

Opportunities

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are commonly found in a wide-range of consumer goods, including cosmetics, sunscreens, paints and colorings, ceramics, glass, textiles, construction materials, medicine, food, food packaging, and more. In Europe, cosmetic companies are required to label products that contain nanoparticles. In the U.S., companies are not.