Abstract
The increasing prevalence of tattoos provoked safety concerns with respect to particle distribution and effects inside the human body. We used skin and lymphatic tissues from human corpses to address local biokinetics by means of synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques at both the micro (μ) and nano (ν) scale. Additional advanced mass spectrometry-based methodology enabled to demonstrate simultaneous transport of organic pigments, heavy metals and titanium dioxide from skin to regional lymph nodes. Among these compounds, organic pigments displayed the broadest size range with smallest species preferentially reaching the lymph nodes. Using synchrotron μ-FTIR analysis we were also able to detect ultrastructural changes of the tissue adjacent to tattoo particles through altered amide I α-helix to β-sheet protein ratios and elevated lipid contents. Altogether we report strong evidence for both migration and long-term deposition of toxic elements and tattoo pigments as well as for conformational alterations of biomolecules that likely contribute to cutaneous inflammation and other adversities upon tattooing.
Highlights
In recent years, the seemingly unstoppable trend for tattoos has brought safety concerns into the spotlight[1]
Organic pigments translocate from skin to lymph nodes
Detection of the same pigment species in both skin and regional lymph nodes revealed the drainage of tattoo particles in two out of four tattooed donors (Fig. 2)
Summary
The seemingly unstoppable trend for tattoos has brought safety concerns into the spotlight[1]. In addition to observations in humans, an in vivo study in mice revealed colored lymph nodes after tattooing with an azo pigment[12]. The only study analyzing human lymph nodes in tattooed individuals assessed its contents on carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons deriving from carbon black particles[13]. The second most common used ingredient of tattoo inks is titanium dioxide (TiO2), a white pigment usually applied to create certain shades when mixed with colorants. The contribution of tattoo inks to the overall body load on toxic elements, the speciation of TiO2, and the identities and size ranges of pigment particles migrating from subepidermal skin layers towards lymph nodes have never been analytically investigated in humans before. We assessed biomolecular changes in the respective tissues at the micrometric scale and in the proximity of tattoo particles using synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared (μ-FTIR) spectroscopy
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