Unexpected health risk - pigments of tattoo inks as nanoparticles in the body

What is the risk of nanoparticles from tattoo inks??

Tattoos basically pose certain health risks, ranging from infection by contaminated work tools to possible damage from toxic ingredients of tattoo paints. Recently, an international research team has been able to prove that particles of color also migrate in the human body and contaminants are deposited in the lymph nodes. Which risk this poses is to be clarified in further studies.

"For the first time, scientists from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) have demonstrated in an international cooperation project that nanoparticle-sized color pigments can permanently accumulate in lymph nodes," the BfR reports in a recent communication. This finding makes further research on the associated health risks urgently necessary. The study was published in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports".

The particles of tattoo paint migrate in the body and are deposited in the lymph nodes, the associated health risks remain unclear. (Image: belyjmishka / fotolia.com)

Nanoparticles can migrate out of tattoo paint

The fact that tattoos due to poor hygiene or use of certain pigments can sometimes cause unwanted health effects, according to the researchers has been known for some time. What is new, however, is the finding that nano-sized particles can migrate out of the tattoo ink, says BfR President Professor Dr. med. Dr. Andreas Hensel. Further research is now needed to assess the health risk. "Given the widespread use and high popularity of tattoos, we consider it necessary to further investigate in the interests of consumer protection, as the particles behave in the body of the tattooed," said the BfR president.

Harmful ingredients in tattoo colors examined

In their study, the scientists investigated possible contaminants of tattoo inks such as nickel, chromium, manganese or cobalt, as well as the second most frequently used ingredient in titanium dioxide (TiO2). As a white pigment, titanium dioxide serves to produce different tints of the tattoo, reports the BfR. In addition, the substance is also used in food additives, sunscreen or painter's paint. With the help of the so-called X-ray fluorescence analysis at the European Synchrotron in Grenoble (ESRF), the scientists have analyzed at which points the pigments of the tattoo inks accumulate in the tissue.

Color change of the lymph nodes recognizable

Previous research has already shown that the pigments of tattoo inks can accumulate in the lymph nodes, resulting in an optically recognizable discoloration of the lymph nodes, so that they subsequently often have the same color as the tattoo, reports the BfR. What is new, however, is the investigation of the pigments in terms of their chemical composition and size, which, according to the researchers, it can be assumed that nanoparticles in the body behave and distribute quite differently, "as we have seen so far with microparticles."

Particles migrate in different sizes

In their study, the scientists found evidence for the migration of nano-sized particles as well as for the deposition of toxic substances in the body, reports the BfR. Thus, the toxins from tattoo inks are also detectable in human lymph nodes. In the further course of the investigations samples of patients with defense reactions due to tattoos are to be examined "in order to investigate the connections between the chemical-structural characteristics of the pigments and the observed adverse effects," explains the BfR. (Fp)