There are many different types of tattoos, from life-like faces to nature scenes. Many people adorn themselves with these images as a form of self-expression, despite the fact that people have decorated their bodies for thousands of years. The ink used for tattoos is unregulated in the U.S., leading to products that are largely unknown. Researchers analyzed almost 100 inks and found that the lists of ingredients aren't always accurate. Particles that could be harmful to cells were found by the team.
The results of the research will be presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society.
John Swierk, the project's principal investigator, said the idea for the project came about because he was interested in what happens when lasers are used to remove tattoos. We started analyzing popular brands because we didn't know much about the composition of tattoo ink.
Swierk and his students interviewed tattoo artists to find out what they know about the ink they use. The artists didn't know a lot about the brand they preferred. Swierk says that no dye shop makes tattoo ink specific. Big companies manufacture all sorts of things. The same colors are used in tattooing. He says that tattoo artists need to be licensed in the locale where they operate for safety reasons, yet no federal or local agency regulates the contents of the ink themselves.
A carrier solution and a pigment are part of tattoo ink. A combination of the two compound types such as light blue ink, which contains both the molecular blue pigment and titanium dioxide, could be used. The carrier solution transports the pigment to the middle layer of the skin, which makes it easier to digest. An anti- inflammatory ingredient can be included in it.
Swierk's team at the State University of New York has been using a number of techniques to investigate the size and composition of tattoo pigments. They have confirmed the presence of ingredients that are not listed on some labels. In one case, the chemical analysis showed that there was something in the ink. The team has been able to identify certain colors in some ink.
Swierk says that they found something that gave them pause. An azo-containing dye is present in 23 of 56 different inks analyzed to date. The Joint Research Centre, which provides independent scientific advice to the European Union, says that azo pigments can be degraded into another nitrogen-based compound that is a potential cancer-causing agent.
The team has analyzed 16 inks using electron microscopy, and about half contained particles smaller than 100 nanometers. Swierk said it was a concerning size range. There is a chance that particles of this size could cause harm.
The data will be added to the website after the researchers run a few more tests. Swierk wants consumers and artists to know how accurate the data is.
More information: What's in my ink: the analysis of tattoo ink composition, ACS Fall 2022. www.acs.org/content/acs/en/mee … tings/fall-2022.html
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