Tartrazine is a yellow-orange food pigment that is usually found in Doritos and researchers at Stanford University. Studies have shown that it can make a mouse’s skin transparent. The Science journal on this discovery offers a fresh perspective on the harmless research of tissues and organs.
The study said, “We found that an aqueous solution of a common food color approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, tartrazine, has the effect of reversibly making the skin, muscle, and connective tissues transparent in live rodents.”
Stanford University researchers did the study, “Achieving Optical Transparency in Live Animals with Absorbing Molecules,” that came out in the journal Science on September 6. According to USA Today, it offers a precise explanation of how the study team was able to see through a mouse’s skin by just using a solution of tartrazine and water.The aim of this experiment, which was conducted by Dr. Zihao Ou, an assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, was to find a better way to examine the organs and tissue and organs within the body.
Tartrazine was selected for the experiment because of its ability to absorb blue ultraviolet light. It allows light to smoothly pass through the rodent’s skin. Ou explained in a statement posted on the university website,“For those who understand the fundamental physics behind this, it makes sense; but if you aren’t familiar with it, it looks like a magic trick”.
The study’s lead author explained they combined yellow dye, as a “molecule that absorbs most light, especially blue and ultraviolet, with skin, a scattering medium”. Even though two of them; on their own, prevent most light from getting through them. When they were combined, they were able to make the mouse’s skin transparent.
In the experiment, the dye was applied to the mouse’s head and abdomen. According to the study, they were able to see the skin, muscle, and connective tissues transparent in live rodents.
After the experiment, they rinsed the dye off the mouse’s skin. It was later removed through urine causing the mice to lose their translucency. “It’s important that the dye is biocompatible – it’s safe for living organisms. In addition, it’s very inexpensive and efficient; we don’t need very much of it to work,” Ou added.
The lead author pointed out that the transparency effect took a few minutes to appear. She said it works like a face mask or cream.
The researchers were able to see internal organs and peristalsis in the belly. They could not directly see the blood arteries on the surface of a mouse’s brain once the skin turned translucent.
