Tattoo pigments, both organic and inorganic, travel within the body in the form of micro and nanoparticles until they reach the lymph nodes, which are stained the color of the ink. For the first time, scientists have found evidence of the transport of these pigments along with impurities and toxic elements through the body. In addition, the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports , has also obtained more in-depth information on the characteristics of pigments ex vivo – biological tissue cultures in an artificial environment outside the body – in tattooed tissues.
The lymph nodes are stained the color of ink
“We already knew that tattoo pigments travel to the lymph nodes because we saw how they stain the color of the tattoo, what we did not know is that they do so at a nano size”, explains Bernhard Hesse, author of the study and scientist of the Synchroton Grenoble Europe (ESRF), in France. “This implies that they may not have the same behavior as micro-level particles, so we still do not know how these nanoparticles of pigments react”, continues the scientist.
Titanium dioxide in white inks slows tattoo healing
The researchers, from French and German research centers, warn that there is still little knowledge about the impurities contained in the color mixtures that are injected into the skin. Most tattoo inks contain organic pigments, along with preservatives and pollutants such as nickel, chromium, manganese, and cobalt. The most common ingredient is charcoal, which is black in color. The second most used is titanium dioxide (Ti02), also used in food additives, which provides the white color used in creating tattoo shadows, combining it with other colorants. This dioxide is responsible for the slow healing and itchiness commonly associated with white tattoos, and researchers have now obtained a very clear picture of the location of titanium dioxide once it passes through skin tissue.
Through ID21 X-ray fluorescence measurements, the scientists found titanium dioxide the size of several micrometers in human skin and nano-size in the lymphatic environment , which can lead to chronic lymph node enlargement. In addition, the study assesses the biomolecular changes produced by the tattoo particles in the areas close to it in the skin tissue, causing alterations such as skin inflammation.
“When someone wants to get a tattoo, they often worry a lot about choosing a site where they use new sterile needles but nobody checks the chemical composition of the inks,” explains Hiram Castilo, co-author of the research. study shows that perhaps it should also worry about it ”, he concludes.
Until now, the risks of tattoos have been studied only through the in vitro chemical analysis of the inks and their components, but the next step for these researchers is to examine the samples obtained from patients who have suffered adverse effects in order to delve deeper into the relationship that chemical properties and ink components have with them.
DOI: 10.1038 / s41598-017-11721-z Scientific Reports
