A Colorado nanoengineer has had plenty of “mad scientist” moments, but his latest invention, a tattoo that users can turn on and off, may be the most impressive.
Carson Bruns developed ‘Magic Ink’, which turns on with ultraviolet light and turns off in daylight or even a flashlight.
The assistant professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder tested the invention on himself and tattooed a small blue dot on his forearm.
He started his own company HYPRSKN before teaming up with Keith ‘Bang Bang’ McCurdy and a former PhD student to invent more unique tattoo technology.
Their first product is Magic Ink and a half-ounce bottle retails for $100, which is much more than the normal cost of ink. But red is the only color for sale for now.
Nanoengineer Carson Bruns developed ‘Magic Ink’ that turns on in ultraviolet light and turns off in daylight or even a flashlight
The assistant professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder tested the invention on himself and tattooed a small blue dot on his forearm
His first product is Magic Ink and a half-ounce bottle retails for $100, which is much more than the normal cost of ink. But red is the only color available for now
Bruns tested the product a few months ago in his lab at the University of Colorado-Boulder and asked a colleague for help.
“We were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to tattoo ourselves. Can you help us today?'” he shared KFF Health News.
“You can go to court and turn it off, and then go to the party and turn it on. And then go to grandma’s house and turn it off,” he added.
He works with the university’s ATLAS Institute, which focuses on producing out-of-the-box ideas.
Bruns started HYPRSKN in January 2022 before teaming up with tattoo artist McCurdy, who has inked stars like Rihanna, Lebron James, Justin Bieber and Adele.
They plan to release Magic Ink to a group of select artists early next year and long-term hopes for smart tattoos that are healthier, cheaper and easier to reach for consumers.
It consists of dye particles encased in plexiglass beads – the same polymethyl methacrylate material in FDA-approved lip fillers.
But the government agency does not regulate the tattoo industry. It intervenes only to push for a recall for ink causing a bacterial outbreak.
Most of the currently used tattoo pigments have been around for a long time, according to John Swierk, a chemist at the State University of New York-Binghamton.
He started his own company HYPRSKN before teaming up with Keith ‘Bang Bang’ McCurdy and a former PhD student to invent more unique tattoo technology.
Bruns tested the product a few months ago in his lab at the University of Colorado-Boulder and asked a colleague for help
But he has warned there is a fear of the unknown when it comes to magical ink.
“If someone gets tattooed with magical ink, they have to accept a certain amount of uncertainty about what the future will bring with that ink,” he said.
Bruns won a $605,000 funding award from the National Science Foundation in April.
He plans to use this to see which size and type of nanoparticles are less likely to irritate the immune system and stay where they are.
The immune system sometimes sends bits of tattoo ink to the lymph nodes, turning them blue and green.
Bruns is working with his colleagues to create other inks that can be useful in everyday life.
They created one that changes color when exposed to gamma rays and can be used as a built-in exposure meter.
While another ink warns people when it’s time to apply sunscreen tested on pigskin.
Bruns has also developed another ink that should work permanently as a sunscreen and which has been tested on a small group of mice. None are available to consumers.
McCurdy wanted to work with the nanoengineer because he loves technology and innovation.
“I’d like to wave my hand and pay with my AmEx, or walk to my car and he knows it’s me,” he said.
McCurdy, pictured with a red heart tattoo made with magical ink, wanted to collaborate with Bruns because he loves technology and innovation
The ink changes color when exposed to UV light
He also pointed out how tattoos could one day be used to alert you to blood sugar levels just by looking at the color.
Chemist Swierk said: ‘There are a lot of steps between where we are now and getting a functional tattoo that tells you something about your health.’
McCurdy believes that putting Magic Ink on pre-sale is another step toward building a consumer base open to technological tattooing.
“That’s how you can get people excited,” he said. “It’s almost a Trojan horse to that new goal: how can we bridge the gap between tattooing and technology.”
He is one of several dozen people, mostly tattoo artists, who already have the ink on their skin.
Tattoo artist Selina Medina, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, said: ‘I would probably give it a year on the market before buying it. But it does look very interesting.’
She pointed out that a brand of UV inks in the 2000s only glowed under black light.
‘It seemed like a great idea, but then we noticed it faded away very quickly. It would just disappear,” she added.
‘We didn’t know what it did. We didn’t know where it was going. And that was like, “What the hell is this stuff?”
But Medina expects a big clamor for the product before she’s willing to buy it herself.
If Magic Ink becomes a huge success, the University of Colorado-Boulder will benefit because it owns the intellectual property. HYPRSKN is currently in the seed round of the financing phase.