. Conversely, during economic downturns, demand may decrease, resulting in lower prices.
The chemical is also found in common household and industrial products such as paints, coatings, adhesives, paper, plastics and rubber, printing inks, coated fabrics and textiles, as well as ceramics.
The surge in demand for interior and exterior paints and use of plastic across various end-use industries drive the global Lithopone market. Lithopone white pigment is used in paints and coating systems that find applications in residential and industrial landscapes. Hence, as the construction & building sector flourishes, the demand for building and architectural materials such as paints and coatings will increase. This trend is conducive for the Lithopone market growth. In addition, white plastic materials are increasingly being used in consumer products. Developments in plastic forming technology is anticipated to indirectly boost plastic production, thus, increasing the demand for white pigments during the forecast period.
Duan et al. administered 125 mg/kg BW or 250 mg/kg BW of anatase TiO2 (5 nm) intragastrically to mice continuously for 30 days. The exposed mice lost body weight, whereas the relative liver, kidney, spleen and thymus weights increased. Particles seriously affected the haemostasis of the blood and the immune system. The decrease in the immune response could be the result of damage to the spleen, which is the largest immune organ in animals and plays an important role in the immune response. Powel et al. demonstrated that TiO2 NPs may trigger immune reactions of the intestine after oral intake. They showed that TiO2 NPs conjugated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide, but not TiO2 NPs or lipopolysaccharide alone, trigger the immune response in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in isolated intestinal tissue. This indicates that TiO2 NPs may be important mediators in overcoming normal gut-cell hyporesponsiveness to endogenous luminal molecules, which may be particularly relevant to patients with inflammatory bowel disease, which is characterized by an abnormal intestinal permeability.