InfinitInk is a tattoo ink designed to simplify tattoo removal. The ink breaks down more quickly in laser light than conventional inks. It is also the first tattoo ink to be developed in the United States with medical trials for safety testing.
Contents
Freedom-2, Inc. produced the ink and released it for sale with limited availability in the United States during January, 2009. As of 2009, it was only available in black and red, with other colors planned. Nuvilex, Inc. acquired Freedom-2 Holdings, Inc. in March, 2009.
Technology
The initial ink formulation consisted of inert plastic beads (made of PMMA) containing bioremovable dyes. During tattoo removal, laser light can rupture the beads allowing the ink to leak out for removal by the body's immune system. Freedom2 referred to the technology as the Particle Encapsulation and Enhancement (P2E) Platform. This method, although effective, left room for improvements to its aesthetic appeal to the artists.
The ink encapsulation technology was initially developed by Drs. Bruce Klitzman and Kim Koger at Duke University and they were granted the first patent for tattoo inks US 6013122 . The concept received widespread coverage in press and broadcast media (Press included the NY Times, the LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Guardian, Time Magazine 2007 Invention of the Year in fashion, New York Magazine, Fortune, Self, Smithsonian, Science News, and Allure. Broadcast media included ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, The Colbert Report, BET, Fox News, and Bloomberg).
It was further refined by Drs. R. Rox Anderson of Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard University with assistance from Edith Mathiowitz, Joshua Reineke and A. Peter Morello of Brown University. After several iterations, Freedom2, Inc. developed a different tattoo ink formulation that they market as "permanent, yet more easily removable" than conventional tattoo ink while maintaining the same aesthetic properties demanded by tattoo artists and consumers." Freedom2 switched to a proprietary process to produce their inks. The black ink was steadily becoming more widely available as of 2009.
Applications
The concept for this ink arose initially from potential medical uses, such as in reconstructive surgery and in radiation oncology. The company found that a permanent and safe, yet more easily removable ink would also find a market with tattoo artists for decorative tattooing.