The research which are comprise of John Rogers from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), as well as scientists from China, Singapore and South Korea, Chemistry World reports, have jointly developed flexible sheets of LED devices, that can be safely inserted under the skin to produce glowing tattoos.

In order to make the LED arrays flexible, the team selected to use a low cost, flexible, biocompatible polymer as a substrate. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) seemed like an obvious choice.

Scientists started out by using circuit arrays just 2.5 micrometers thick, and 100 x 100 micrometers in size. They then printed the electronics onto glass, before transferring them to the PDMS substrate.

Rogers believes that this work is very relevant for the medical industry, and says that his group will continue with the investigation regardless of the fact that the scientific community is now focusing on OLED.

In experiments conducted with the new arrays, the team inserted the miniature devices in a soapy water solution, and then under the skin of an animal model. The LED endured these conditions without damage.

It's believed that LED will be used in glowing tattoos in the near future.