‘Invisible’ Tattoos Switch on and Off Under Different Light
The inks use 365-nanometer ultraviolet light to switch between nearly invisible and vivid colors, and one participant’s tattoos stayed rewritable for up to 2.2 years.
- University of Colorado Boulder researchers published a study in Matter & Light on Friday detailing PhotoTat, a light-sensitive ink that allows users to switch designs between visible and nearly invisible states using ultraviolet light.
- Encapsulated in microscopic PMMA spheres, these photochromic dyes change molecular structure upon exposure to ultraviolet light, enabling researchers to create 16 distinguishable colors and at least 300 different shades by combining them in varying proportions.
- For patients undergoing radiation therapy, the ink could make permanent alignment markings invisible when not required, reducing permanent reminders of what Bruns described as traumatic medical experiences that "become a permanent reminder of a traumatic experience."
- Lead researcher Carson Bruns, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, tested the ink on himself and commercialized the purple variety for $100 per small bottle after third-party medical tests.
- Safety testing remains a major hurdle before widespread tattoo parlor use, and outdoor sunlight may necessitate UV protection to keep the tattoos hidden, limiting near-term accessibility despite the technology's promise.
67 Articles
67 Articles
A tattoo that appears when we want and then becomes almost invisible again? The idea seems to come out of a movie, but it is already being studied. It's called PhotoTat and can give the art on the skin a kind of switch. Choosing a tattoo usually involves a weight question: Will I like this in 20 years? [...]
Tattoo ink can be turned on and off with light
Tattoos are permanent, but a new technique developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder allows them to be turned on and off. In a study in Matter & Light, researchers detail a technique using photochromic dye in tiny plexiglass spheres as tattoo ink. — Read the rest
Imagine a tattoo that doesn’t have to be removed to disappear from sight. Scientists at the University of Colorado have developed a photochromic ink that can be “turned on” with ultraviolet light and rendered nearly invisible with bright visible light. The technology is called PhotoTat. According to Carson Bruns, one of the researchers, the change can be repeated many times. “The tattoo is permanent, but the appearance is not,” he explains. Brun…
Scientists in the US have developed a tattoo ink that becomes visible on demand and disappears again with the help of light. Thanks to this new technology, laser removal may no longer be necessary to change the appearance of tattoos.
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