Transdermal drug delivery devices could be used to provide medication and offer the benefit of dispersing a therapeutically appropriate dose of medication across the skin of a patient. One of the newest developments in transdermal drug administration is medical tattoos. Studies show that people have used tattoos for a variety of purposes throughout history, such as a symbol of status, a commitment to a particular religion or spirituality, a decoration for valor, sexual temptation, and an expression of love. Syphilis, tetanus, TB, and herpes have all been linked to tattooing in recent years in a number of recorded cases. Many of these illnesses were caused by tattoo artists holding needles in their mouths or mixing saliva with ink. Given that tattoos are fashionable among teenagers, medicated tattoos are quickly becoming a highly common drug delivery method.
Over the past twenty years, tattooing has garnered remarkably significant prominence. Its root term, "tatu," is to brand anything for symbolic representation or identification. Studies show that people have used tattoos for a variety of purposes throughout history, such as a symbol of status, a commitment to a particular religion or spirituality, a decoration for valor, sexual temptation, and an expression of love. Syphilis, tetanus, TB, and herpes have all been linked to tattooing in recent years in a number of recorded cases. In more recent times, tattooing has also made its way into the medical profession (scar concealment, endoscopic gastrointestinal tattooing, permanent makeup tattooing, and radiation field was marking. Recently, tattooing has become popularly employed in the medical industry as a method of drug delivery (corneal tattooing, gastrointestinal tattooing during endoscopy, permanent makeup tattooing, scar camouflaging, or radiation field marking). Many of these illnesses were brought on by tattoo artists holding needles in their mouths or mixing saliva with ink.
Figure 1 Medicated Tatoo
Modern Tattooists use the Following Steps:
As a result of technical development, traditional tattooing has been transformed into a transdermal medicine delivery system. Transdermal drug delivery systems are a potential source of drug delivery through the skin and have certain advantages as they deliver a therapeutically effective amount of drug through the patient's skin. Transdermal administration has the advantage over injections and oral routes of administration. It provides high patient compliance and avoids the disadvantage of oral administration by eliminating fast-pass metabolism.
Figure 2 Steps For Medicated Tattoo
INDICATION OF COMPLETE DRUG ABSORPTION:-
Figure 3 Medicated Tattoo With Drug Allergy
Advantages of Medicated tattoos:
Disadvantages of Medicated tattoos: There are potential health risks and complications associated with tattooing such as infections, tattoo- related dermatoses, and allergic reactions:
TYPE OF INK IS USED FOR MEDICAL TATTOOS:-
There are many types of ink that can be used for medical tattooing depending on the application. Often for medical bracelets and many of the restoration work, most clients just up to go with their own choice of colors and will either choose organic or traditional inks. Traditional inks use the following to make the colors:
For the markers that are tattooed on for medical reasons during radiation using a medical grade tattoo ink. This is mostly just to make sure it is intact for the radiation work. The kit will also come with different colors to identify different treatment spots and intensity.
The Formulation of Medicated Tattoos:-
The formulation & composition of tattoos:
The Basic Mechanism behind Medicated Tattoo:-
Applications of Medical Tattooing:-
Medical tattooing usually has one of the following two objectives:
APPLICATIONS
Scalp Tattooing:-
Common medical tattoo application is to add pigment to the scalp in cases of advanced male pattern baldness and alopecia. The goal of medical tattooing of the scalp is to provide the illusion of the appearance of hair follicles in areas with hair loss, including scars. Two studies were identified which describe this application and provide meaningful outcome data.
Figure:-4 Shaved Hair-Style Scalp Tattoo On A 34-Year-Old Male With Norwood Stage 5 Alopecia. (A) Before Top View, (B) Before Front View, (C) After Top View, And (D) After Front View.
Vitiligo:-
Vitiligo is a medical condition in which the cells that produce melanin stop functioning, causing the skin to lose pigment, turning white. Vitiligo occurs in approximately 1% of the population. This skin disorder affects all races, although it is more noticeable in darker pigmented skin because of the contrast between the affected area and unaffected areas. The goal of micropigmentation in patients with vitiligo is the restoration of the appearance of skin color. That is to add pigment to blend the affected areas in with the surrounding skin tone. The challenge is to achieve the best pigment color match possible. One study was identified which describes medical tattooing procedures for vitiligo and provide successful outcome data.
Figure 5:-Vitiligo Of The Fingers On A 56-Year-Old Female (A) Before The Procedure And (B) Just After The Procedure.
Three-dimensional (3D) restorative tattooing has the goal of providing an illusion of the premorbid appearance of the dermis. The skill and experience level required to execute 3D restorative tattoos are much higher than just adding color to the pigment. Matching skin tones is the basis of restorative treatment for conditions of hypopigmentation, but it is expanded on in 3D tattooing by utilizing light and shadow with pigments to create the illusion of depth in the dermis where there is none. The most commonly studied restorative tattoos have been with patients with a history of breast cancer needing nipple-areola complex (NAC) reconstruction tattoos.
NAC Restorative Tattoos:-
The treatment of breast cancer often requires surgeries, which can result in the removal of one or both NACs. Medical tattooing offers a unique solution to the issue of the missing NAC, either in combination with different nipple reconstruction techniques or as a “tattoo only” option by creating a 3D image in the place of a reconstructed nipple. Ten studies were found that evaluated patient satisfaction with the application of NAC tattooing.
Figure 6:- NAC Restorative Tattoos
TATTOOS FOR THE INDICATION OF THE DISEASE STATE FOR EMERGENCY HELP:-Tattoos can be used to indicate the disease state of a person to be helped in the disease states with critical time like in case of diabetes, epilepsy and heart stokes. Hence, in this case, by looking at such tattoos, the medical emergency can be identified, and the patient should be immediately supported by the recommended health support.
Figure 7:- Tattoos For The Indication Of The Disease State For Emergency Help
Patient Satisfaction: -
Overall, patients reported high satisfaction for all conditions for which medical tattooing was used as an intervention. Follow-up time varied both within each disease category and across all diseases studied. The shortest average follow-up time was 2 weeks, and the longest average follow-up time was 38.5 months. The lowest average satisfaction rating was found for scar tattooing at 78% and the highest rating of 100% was found for NAC tattooing, vitiligo tattooing, and scalp tattooing. Table 2 shows the overall patient satisfaction data per study.
Case Study:-
Drug Delivery by Tattooing to Treat Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
OlPC-liposomes induce dose-dependent killing of intracellular Leishmania in cultured macrophage-derived cell lines:
In vivo efficacy of OlPC-liposomes against L. major CL.
Female Blab/c mice received 10 × 10^6stationary phase L. major promastigotes transfected with luciferase at the tail base. After 12 weeks, mice were treated 2 × 5 days with PBS vehicle or OlPC-liposomes: 36–90 ?g/day administered with a tattoo device (tattoo), 30 mg/kg/day IP, or 900 ?g/day as a topical drop on the top of the lesion (topic). Lesions were measured from the start day of the treatment (Day 0) on individual pictures taken on Day 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 for each mouse. Lesion areas were calculated using the Adobe Photoshop® software. Representative pictures of lesions from each group are shown in (a); mean lesion sizes (±SEM) up to Day 28 are presented in (b); P < 0 xss=removed>
In vivo efficacy of OlPC-liposomes against L. mexicana CL.
Female Balb/c mice received 10 × 10^6 stationary phase L. mexicanapromastigotes at the base of tail. After 12 weeks, mice were treated 2 × 5 days with PBS vehicle or OlPC-liposomes (36–90 ?g/day) administered with a tattoo device. Lesions were measured from the start day of the treatment (Day 0) from individual pictures taken on Day 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 for each mouse. Lesion areas were calculated using the Adobe Photoshop® software. Representative pictures of lesions from each group are shown in (a), while mean lesion sizes (±SEM) up to Day 28 are presented in(b); (*) P < <0 xss=removed>
Conclusion Of Case Study
Complications and Future Directions:-
CONCLUSION
Medical tattoos as a transdermal drug delivery system have been recognized as a potential delivery system despite their limitations. This delivery system allows rate-controlled drug delivery with fewer side effects, increased efficacy, and consistent delivery. Human skin has been shown to have extremely good barrier function, and to improve drug penetration, it is often necessary to use enhancement strategies. In addition, tattooing has gained tremendous popularity in the medical field. Tattooing is increasingly used for medical identification of diseases that require special attention in emergencies, such as diabetics who are unconscious due to hypoglycemia or patients with allergy to a specific drug. In the current edition, the treatment options for tattoos are well described, and in addition, individualization is required to address the patient's safety concerns. It serves as a reliable and effective tool for the treatment of laymen, professionals, beauticians and traumatized people. Moreover, the inclusion of non-toxic and non-irritating biodegradable vegetable pigments in medical tattoos can cause an explosion in medical science.
REFERENCES
Shaikh Naumaan Naeem , Pradnya Palekar Shanbhag , Aseem Ramsamujh Jaiswar , Chirag Laxmikant Rane , Manishkumar Prajapat , Vanshika K. Sahu, A Comprehensive Review on Assessment of Adulteration Detection Techniques In Edible Oils, Int. J. of Pharm. Sci., 2024, Vol 2, Issue 9, 1123-1131. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13825045
10.5281/zenodo.13825045
