Jacobsen Nicklas Raun, Clausen Per Axel
The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Curr Probl Dermatol. 2015;48:170-5. doi: 10.1159/000369319. Epub 2015 Mar 26.
Black is the most common tattoo color, but only a few studies have shed light on the multitude of functional and contaminating chemicals present in black inks. These studies have generally shown that black inks are a diverse group, containing anything from 5 to 50+ organic components. Little is known about the possible effects on humans of internalizing these chemicals. Analysis has shown that the production of the main component, carbon black, can lead to the formation of pigments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents that range from very high to almost completely absent. Similar variations in PAH concentrations are observed in black inks. PAHs are known carcinogens and thus, low recommended levels have been suggested by the Council of Europe. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have recently been a topic in scientific literature related to tattoo ink. Again, it has been shown that some inks produce deleterious ROS (e.g. singlet oxygen or peroxyl radicals), presumably via either adhered organic compounds or particle surface defects. It has been shown that black tattoo inks may contain a multitude of chemicals, including carcinogens and allergens, and some have unknown toxicologies. However, it has additionally been demonstrated that some black inks already on the market do not produce ROS and also contain PAHs at levels that are below those recommended by the Council of Europe and very few additional contaminants.
黑色是最常见的纹身颜色，但仅有少数研究揭示了黑色墨水中存在的多种功能性和污染性化学物质。这些研究普遍表明，黑色墨水种类繁多，含有5至50多种有机成分。对于人体吸收这些化学物质可能产生的影响，人们知之甚少。分析表明，主要成分炭黑的生产会导致形成多环芳烃（PAH）含量从极高到几乎不存在不等的颜料。在黑色墨水中也观察到PAH浓度的类似变化。PAH是已知的致癌物，因此欧洲委员会建议了较低的推荐水平。活性氧（ROS）最近在与纹身墨水相关的科学文献中成为一个话题。同样，研究表明一些墨水会产生有害的ROS（如单线态氧或过氧自由基），可能是通过附着的有机化合物或颗粒表面缺陷产生的。研究表明，黑色纹身墨水可能含有多种化学物质，包括致癌物和过敏原，有些物质的毒理学性质未知。然而，另外还证明，市场上现有的一些黑色墨水不会产生ROS，并且所含PAH的水平低于欧洲委员会的推荐水平，其他污染物也很少。
