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Treatments of a phthalocyanine-based green ink for tattoo removal purposes: generation of toxic fragments and potentially harmful morphologies

  • Analytical Toxicology
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Abstract

Since tattoos became overwhelmingly fashionable worldwide, the demand for removal has proportionally increased, Nd:YAG Q-switch laser being the most commonly used tool for the purpose. In this framework we investigated the composition and products of laser treatment of green tattoo ink, the Green Concentrate from Eternal. The ink characterization has been carried out by IR, UV–Vis, EDX spectroscopies, and SEM imaging. It revealed the presence of the pigment PG7, rather than PG36 as reported on the bottle label, along with non-fully halogenated analogues. The morphology is an extended sheath with embedded grains. Subsequent laser treatments were performed on both dried and extracted inks, dispersed either in water or in propan-2-ol, chosen for their different polarities, as it is the case in the skin layers. The products were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, UV–Vis spectroscopy, SEM imaging, and dynamic light scattering. The outcome is a complex fragmentation pattern that depends both on the solvent and on the initial aggregation state. The fragment compounds are toxic at various degrees according to the Classification Labelling and Packaging regulations. Several shapes of aggregates are produced as an effect of both downsizing and re-aggregation, with potentially harmful aspect ratios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Structure of Matter, (CNR-ISM), Italian National Research Council, Via Salaria km 23.9, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy

    Elvira Maria Bauer

  2. Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Emanuele Vincenzo Scibetta, Daniele Cecchetti, Susanna Piccirillo, Simonetta Antonaroli, Pietro Tagliatesta & Marilena Carbone

  3. Institute for Complex Systems (ISC), National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy

    Simona Sennato

  4. Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 2, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Simona Sennato

  5. Institute for Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Italian National Research Council, Via Salaria km 23.9, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy

    Marina Cerasa

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  1. Elvira Maria Bauer
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Bauer, E.M., Scibetta, E.V., Cecchetti, D. et al. Treatments of a phthalocyanine-based green ink for tattoo removal purposes: generation of toxic fragments and potentially harmful morphologies. Arch Toxicol 94, 2359–2375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-020-02790-7

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