While tattoo lovers have to sit in tattoo parlors for long hours and endure the pain of pins and needles, experts have created a small patch of skin so that tattoos can be applied without using parlour.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a low-cost, painless and bloodless tattoo that can be self-applied in a variety of ways.
“We’ve shrunk the needle to be painless, but we’ve still effectively deposited the tattoo ink on the skin,” said lead researcher Mark Prausnitz management.
Prausnitz, J. Erskine Love Jr., in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. President and Regent Professor, Georgia Tech Postdoctoral Fellow Sung Lee presented research in iScience, which was co-authored.
Tattoos are used in medicine to cover scars, to restore nipples after direct radiotherapy or breast surgery for recurrent cancer.
Tattoos can also be used in place of bracelets as medical alerts to communicate serious medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy or allergies.
There are many cosmetics on the market that mostly use micro-needles for anti-aging, but the development of micro-needle technology for tattooing is a new thing.
Often tattoos use large needles to repeatedly pierce the skin to achieve a beautiful shape, and this process can take a long time in addition to some pain.
The Georgia Tech team developed microneedles smaller than a grain of sand and made of tattoo ink embedded in a soluble matrix. “Because the micro-needles are made of tattoo ink, they deposit the ink on the skin very well,” he said. lead author Song Lee. It stays on the skin only once a minute and then dissolves, leaving the ink on the skin without bleeding after a few minutes.”
tattoo technique
While most microneedle patches for medicine or cosmetics contain dozens or hundreds of microneedles arranged in a square or circle, microneedle tattoos print a design that can include letters, numbers, symbols, and pictures. any shape or pattern.
The researchers started with a mold containing microneedles in an image-forming pattern, filled the microneedles inside the mold with tattoo ink, and added a patch backing for easy application. meanwhile the fine needles melt, releasing the tattoo ink. Adding tattoo inks of various colors to fine needles, including a clear black ink that can only be seen when illuminated by UV light.
Prausenitz’s lab has been researching microneedles for vaccine delivery for years and realized it could also be applied to tattoos. Prausnitz’s team began creating tattoos to identify neutered pets with support from the Coalition for Prevention of Pregnancy in Cats and Dogs, but later realized the technology could be effective for humans as well.
Tattoos are also designed with privacy in mind, and researchers have created patches that are sensitive to environmental factors such as light or temperature changes. The tattoo only exposes to UV rays or higher temperatures, giving patients privacy, revealing the tattoo only when desired. . .
Studies have shown that tattoos can last at least a year and are likely to be permanent, making them a viable cosmetic option for people who want an aesthetic tattoo without the risk of infection or disease. associated with traditional tattooing. instead, it can be filled with temporary tattoo ink to meet short-term medical and cosmetic needs.
According to the researchers, these tattoos can be tattooed painlessly and carefully on the animals’ skin, instead of cutting off their ears or wearing ear tags to indicate sterilization status.
Source: Medical Express
Source: Arabic RT