Are optical brighteners harmful to the body? _Kain Industrial Additives

Before understanding fluorescent whitening agents, let’s first understand fluorescence. Fluorescence is a luminescent phenomenon of photoluminescence. When a substance at room temperature is irradiated by incident light of a certain wavelength (usually ultraviolet or band), the emitted light with this property is called fluorescence. Many fluorescent substances will disappear immediately once the incident light stops.

Substances with the above properties are called fluorescent agents. Therefore, fluorescent agents are not a specific substance, but a general term for a class of substances. The emitted light emitted by the fluorescent agent after absorbing light energy is in the visible light band and can appear in a variety of colors. In daily life, the chemical composition of fluorescent whitening agents commonly used by people is stilbene derivatives, which are characterized by absorbing ultraviolet rays and reflecting blue-white phosphorescence. White items in daily life can slightly absorb blue light in visible light, resulting in insufficient blue light, making the items appear slightly yellow and affecting the appearance of the product. If a fluorescent whitening agent is added to a white product, it absorbs ultraviolet light and converts it into blue emitted light, which is complementary to the yellow color of the product itself. The product will be whitened when seen by the naked eye. This is why the manufacturer adds fluorescent whitening. The reason for the agent.

So, will the items added with fluorescent whitening agents in our daily life endanger our health? Scientific research shows that fluorescent agents are not easily degraded after being absorbed by the human body. Once combined with proteins in the human body, they can only be excreted from the body through decomposition by the liver. According to medical clinical experiments, fluorescent agents can cause cell mutations and may become potential carcinogens. However, products containing fluorescent agents generally do not cause harm to the human body. my country has clear regulations on the addition of fluorescent agents: migrating fluorescent substances cannot be detected in daily necessities. “Migrant fluorescent substance” means that the added fluorescent substance can be transferred to human skin or mucous membranes through washing, biting, sweating or touching.

Therefore, when using a purple light flashlight to detect fluorescent whitening agents in daily life, there is no need to panic. Products that comply with national regulations do not have fluorescence migration, and fluorescent whitening agents will not migrate into the human body. , it will not cause harm to the human body.