Engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder have designed invisible multicolored tattoo inks that can be switched on and off with different kinds of light.
The ideological version of this technology would allow individuals to hide their tattoos during important business meetings—and not for any other reason ever.
The inks, known as "PhotoTat," are made from dyes and a plexiglass-like material used in dermal fillers—the gel-like substance injected beneath the skin to smooth out wrinkles and plump up the kisser.
Dr. Carson Bruns, a nanotechnologist from the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of a new study published in “Matter & Light,” said, “Tattooing is a very ancient technology that remains mostly untapped as a platform for today's technologies."
PhotoTat is made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which forms small spheres that look like glass. The little balls are filled with a range of color-changing dyes.
Normally, these dyes are invisible to the human eye. But when you shine an ultraviolet light on them, they change color in seconds—turning blue, magenta or yellow. The colors fade over several hours, but you can also switch them off faster by exposing them to a bright LED light.
Next, the researchers hope to improve the design and one day make them available at parlors around the world. That includes making sure they are safe for other humans. However, like many an aspiring tattoo artist, Bruns has tried the inks on himself in a fish- scale pattern on his leg that can be turned red, orange or blue. Bruns calls them his "magical mermaid scales.”
PhotoTats could also have practical applications, like on cancer patients to help doctors guide the radiation beams. Current markers carry both a mental and physical weight.
This research was supported by funding from HYPRSKN, the National Science Foundation, and the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Dr. Bruns is the CSO of HYPRSKN, which is based in New York. The company already markets Microscopic Adapto-Generative Intradermal Colorant or M.A.G.I.C. Ink, as the “world's first on-demand rewritable, erasable and reprogrammable tattoo ink.” So you too can one day use intradermal science to get your very own magical mermaid scales or make your forearm a doodle pad.
