Using analytical chemistry to illuminate the unlisted ingredients in tattoo inks

‘There are a lot of questions around safety in tattoos, and we’re nowhere close to answering that,’ says John Swierk, who runs an inorganic chemistry research group at Binghamton University in the US. ‘The focus here is just to start with a simple question of whether labelling is accurate, because if you want to track down adverse events, you have to know what’s in the ink to start working backwards.’

Swierk’s group works on a broad portfolio of research, including photoredox catalysis. But about four years ago he became intrigued by the idea of using tattoos to monitor health and began to wonder why light seems to cause tattoos to fade. There wasn’t a clear answer, so he built a research programme to study the photochemistry of tattoos and brought in Kelli Moseman, who is now a sixth year PhD student in his lab, to help with that effort.