In this era of 3D printing, prostheses can be printed, the bones can be printed, the beaks can be printed, and scientists tell you tattoos can now be printed!
According to foreign media reports, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new type of 3D printer technology based on "genetically engineered bacterial viable cells" to give people a more personalized "tattoo", which A tattoo can change color under certain chemical stimuli.
3D printed "inks" are created by genetically engineered living cells, and the first step for MIT researchers is to find the right living cells. Through experimentation, scientists have focused on bacteria because bacteria have powerful cell walls that allow them to survive the 3D printer's nozzles. In addition, bacteria are also fully compatible with the hydrogels required for 3D printing.
The team did an experiment, and they 3D printed a bacterial cell sticker on an elastomeric layer that was designed to resemble a tree trunk. The sticker was covered with bacteria, and then touched with different chemicals and stickers, the results showed that the bacteria on the sticker was "lit" into a different color. The future of this technology may be applied to drug delivery systems.
In fact, this is not the first time scientists have proposed 3D printing tattoos, but this time the "ink" is rather special, using living cells of bacteria. As early as 2015, the French students Pierre Emm and Piotr Widelka co-invented a 3D printing tattoo machine with 150 stitches per second, producing a complete pattern in minutes.
While designing TATTOO with 3D modeling and 3D printers seems counterintuitive to traditional craftsmanship, Pierre Emm insists that tattooed 3D printers are just one tool to enhance people's abilities. All they have to do is make the tattoo more convenient and personal.
3D printing can also create a full three-dimensional beauty tattoo. Earlier this year, Julien Nikolov, a graduate student at Lincoln University in the United Kingdom, used 3D printing technology to create three-dimensional haptic tattoos that customers can easily wear and remove.
Using 3D design software, Nikolov created a customizable 3D model, which was then 3D printed and pasted onto the body. The biggest difference between this tattoo and the traditional tattoo is that it is glued to the customer's body with a silicone-based adhesive and can be easily removed. So this tattoo is suitable for those who like tattoos but do not allow tattoos to work.
Another big advantage of this 3D printing print tattoo is that the customer does not have to suffer the pain, and because the tattoo does not require a needle to be drawn on the body, the tattoo is also suitable for people with impatience.
