• Effects: Tattoo ink affects the immune system
  • Report: The EU warns about tattoo inks

It is an ancestral custom, associated until recently with people of doubtful reputation, which in only a few decades has been extended to almost all sectors of the population. Today, one in ten Europeans has at least one tattoo and Spain in particular is one of the countries where they are most popular. For a long time that marginal character caused neither the authorities nor the scientists to be too interested in its effects on health, hence the lack of clinical studies on the repercussions that certain substances present in pigments can cause in our body.

Now a team of researchers from different European centers presents a new factor to consider: particles from needle wear, which contain traces of nickel and chromium and which can also affect the body. " It is no longer just a matter of the cleanliness of the study , of the sterilization of the equipment or of the pigments, we have realized that the wear of the needles also has an impact on the body," explains Hiram Castillo, a scientist at the European Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (ESRF) and co-author of a study published Tuesday in the journal Particle and Fiber Toxicology .

This work reveals that chromium and nickel residues are distributed throughout the body until they end up in the lymph nodes. Likewise, the results show that when the ink contains titanium dioxide (a light pigment that often appears in the brightest colors ) the needle suffers a lot of wear, something that does not occur with carbon black ink. "The abrasion properties are different, titanium dioxide has a higher density and hardness, so that wear is more likely to occur," says the researcher.

Tattoo needles contain between 6% and 8% nickel and between 15% and 20% chromium, two substances that cause high sensitivity in the general population and even allergic reactions . "The main message is that there is more attention to pigments," says Castillo, "the risk is that allergies can develop and that these substances that remain in the body can cause long-term damage, something that has not yet been evaluated ".

Nanoparticles

According to the authors, the size of the particles that end up in the lymph nodes varies between 50 nanometers and two micrometers. Paradoxically, the smallest nanoparticles are the most dangerous, since in proportion they release more toxic elements and have a greater capacity to penetrate directly into the cells . At the same time, experts explain that they can also be more easily excreted from the body.

The research has been carried out in the ESRF, one of the most intense X-ray sources in the world, to be able to perform the analyzes by synchrotron radiation fluorescence; that is to say the radiation generated by particles charged with energy that move in a magnetic field.

"We produce 10 times more intense radiation than a normal X-ray machine, " Castillo explains, "by achieving a greater order of magnitude, we can concentrate on a microscopic scale and analyze the luminescence of different particles." The team has also compared the needles before and after the process, using a scanning electron microscope, a technique capable of producing high-resolution images with which to evaluate abrasion.

The study provides the first proof that not only tattoo pigments but also worn needle particles are distributed to the immune system. The same team published in 2017 the first investigation in which it was conclusively demonstrated that the residual substances of the pigments that decorate the skin penetrate key points of the immune system. These substances include manganese and cobalt, in addition to those mentioned nickel and chromium.

Regulation and more research

This year the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) should publish an evaluation that could lead to a ban on 4,000 substances contained in the inks used in tattoos and micropigmentation. Although the community institution warns that the will is not to prohibit, but to regulate the sector. Many of them have already been banned in Spain , one of the countries with the strictest rules in this sector. In any case, dermatologists recommend that, before performing any tattoo, an examination on the nature of the pigments is done and a professional study is always chosen.

The researchers, meanwhile, point out that it is necessary to conduct deeper studies to more clearly assess the impact on the appearance of allergies and systemic sensitization to the substances used. "The fact that all pigments and wear particles are deposited in the lymph nodes requires that special attention be paid to the development of allergies " explains Ines Schreiver, co-author of the research, member of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. "These are long-term effects that can only be evaluated with epidemiological studies that monitor the health of thousands of people for decades."

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