Semi-Permanent Tattoos - Transforming a Canadian Start-Up Company's Product Through Fundamental Chemistry

直接来源或衍生自天然产品的染料在化妆品行业中越来越受到关注。从天然产品中采购化学染料或其接近的前体可以通过减少衍生和纯化步骤的数量来显著减少制造对环境的影响。工业合作伙伴Inkbox Ink目前在其半永久性纹身技术中使用京尼平，这是一种主要来自栀子果实提取物的染料前体。作用的一般机制涉及京尼平与伯胺的反应，在这种情况下是皮肤中的氨基酸。无色水果提取物变成亮蓝染料的机制知之甚少，许多报告提供了相互矛盾的假设。京尼平快速形成非永久性皮肤染料的罕见能力表明了许多潜在的应用。为了开发新的目标染料和促进新的皮肤技术，必须更好地了解其作用机制。该合作研究计划致力于通过系统的合成修饰和分析实验来阐明机制并发现新分子。从这些研究中获得的知识将应用于开发新的染料和皮肤粘合技术，使Inkbox商业化，从而使加拿大初创公司快速增长。

Dyes which are either sourced directly or derived from naturally-occurring products are of growing interest in the cosmetics industry. Sourcing chemical dyes or their close precursors from natural products can significantly reduce the environmental impact of manufacture by reducing the number of derivatization and purification steps. The industrial partner, Inkbox Ink, currently uses genipin, a dye precursor derived primarily from extracts of the gardenia fruit, in their semi-permanent tattoo technologies. The general mechanism of action involves the reaction of genipin with primary amines, in this case amino acids in the skin. The mechanism by which a colourless fruit extract becomes a brilliant blue dye is poorly understood, with numerous reports providing contradictory hypotheses. The rare ability of genipin to rapidly form non-permanent skin dyes suggests a number of potential applications. In order to develop new target dyes and facilitate new dermal technologies, the mechanism of action must be better understood. This collaborative research program endeavours to elucidate the mechanism and discover new molecules through systematic synthetic modifications and analytical experiments. The knowledge gained from these studies will be applied to the development of new dyes and skin-binding technologies for Inkbox to commercialize, allowing for rapid growth of a Canadian start-up company.