What's in your microcapsule? Tattoo ink -- and more
Source: www.physorg.com
Topic: Tattoo
Sort Desciption: Images of tattoo inks, sealed in microcapsules, that will be used to make the. first removable tattoo. The microcapsules are made in the lab of Brown ...
Content Inside: Whats in your microcapsule? Tattoo ink -- and more Images of tattoo inks, sealed in microcapsules, that will be used to make the first removable tattoo. The microcapsules are made in the lab of Brown scientist Edith Mathiowitz. Credit: Freedom-2 In her Brown University laboratory, Edith Mathiowitz makes tiny particles coated in polymers. These microcapsules, some as small as the point of a pin, can carry medicines, genes, paints, pesticides – any molecule that needs protection or controlled release. Mathiowitz developed her technique as a drug delivery system, but her microcapsules are now being put to a very different use – to make ink for the first permanent removable tattoo. Under a new intellectual property licensing agreement signed by Brown University and Freedom-2 Holdings Inc., the company has the right to make and sell their ink based on research Freedom-2 has funded in the Mathiowitz lab. With Freedom-2 funding, Mathiowitz and her team have made microencapsulated beads filled with dyes. These beads are mixed with a solution to make Freedom-2 tattoo inks. The inks are safer than conventional products, free of heavy metals and other toxins. The inks can also be easily removed. A single laser treatment breaks the polymer beads, allowing the body to naturally expel the dye trapped inside. Currently, it takes about six or seven laser treatments to remove a tattoo using traditional inks. “It’s terrific that my technology has such a cool consumer application,” Mathiowitz said. “My microencapsulation technique has other potential uses, particularly for making new medicines. Any fragile, bioactive molecule – proteins, hormones, DNA – can be coated so that it can be safely delivered to where it is needed in the body and still do its job once it gets there. There are enormous possibilities for drug delivery with this technology.” Microencapsulation, or suspending particles in biodegradable coatings, is widely used in manufacturing ...
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