Ultraviolet protection by summer textiles. Ultraviolet transmission measurements verified by determination of the minimal erythema dose with solar-simulated radiation

Background Apart from sunscreen lotions, clothing provides protection from acute and chronic sun damage. Therefore, it is very important to know the u ltraviolet (UV) protection factor (UPF) of textiles, in particular of light weight summer clothing, Usually, the UPF of a textile is determined by spec trophotometric assessment of the UV transmission (in vitro method). Objectives To compare the relationship between in vitro tests and in vivo t ests of UPF using solar simulators for determination of the minimal erythem a dose (MED), applied to 30 different summer textiles. Methods Thirty summer textiles were spectrophotometrically assessed, and UP Fs were calculated with respect to the International Commission on Illumina tion (CIE) erythemal action spectrum.(1) Based on the in vitro UPFs 'on ski n' and 'off skin', in vivo testing was performed using a solar simulator fo r the determination of the MEDunprotected and MEDprotected. Results The UPFs obtained from in vivo 'on skin' testing were significantly (r = 0.95; P < 0.001) lower than the predicted in vitro UPFs. This dispari ty was also confirmed by chromometric assessment of the MED testing; the er ythemal responses measured after textile protection were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than those obtained without protection. However, the in vivo 'off skin' UPFs did not significantly (r = 0.98; P > 0.05) differ from the in vitro UPFs; comparison of the chromometrically assessed erythemal respo nses was also insignificant (P > 0.05). Conclusions The different correlation between in vitro and in vivo measurem ents of the UPF may be due to the optical-geometrical properties of textile s and the different amount of direct and diffuse radiation passing through the spaces between the yarns. As spectrophotometric measurements of a texti le may generally yield lower UPFs than those obtained under average field c onditions, the in vitro test method provides 'safe' UPF values representing a 'worst-case scenario'. In contrast to in vitro testing, in vivo methods are much more expensive and time-consuming, Thus, with respect to practical ity, spectrophotometric measurements seem to be most suitable for the evalu ation of UV protection of textiles.