Colour-change wearables to help keep Queenslanders sun-smart

Queensland researchers have developed wearable items that can tell you when you’ve been in the sun too long and are at risk of sun damage to your skin.

Queensland University of Technology scientists have previously developed a dye that changes colour when exposed to UV light.

Some of the items developed by the QUT team incorporating the UV-activated dye.Credit: QUT

Now, a collaboration between the science and design departments at the university has developed a range of wearable product prototypes to show how they could be used in everyday life.

QUT chemist Dr Nathan Boase said there were a number of products on the market which measured UV exposure, but they were all single-use, while their wearables could be reused.

“When exposed to simple green light the dye goes from pink back to clear, so you can use these over and over,” he said.

“Another key difference is that a lot of the UV detectors on the market fade when they’re out of the sun, but ours is incremental, it holds its colour, so you can track sun exposure during the day.”

(Left to right) Dr Levi Swann, Dr Nathan Boase and Dr Heather McKinnon were part of the developoment team, funded through a $56,000 QUT Early Career Researcher Grant Credit: QUT

The “switchable dye” technology research was published in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies and lead author Dr Sandra Wiedbrauk said the hardest part was developing a substance which could be reverted to its original colour.

“Our switchable dye changes from colourless to pink when exposed to UV light, but can then switch back,” she said. “We’ve picked a molecule that no-one seems to have worked with before.”

Dr Heather McKinnon from QUT’s School of Design said they had used 3D printing to create a range of items which incorporated the dye, from wristbands and necklaces to clips which can be attached to bags.

“We went through probably 50 pages of designs trying to get a good mix of different items that people would use everyday,” she said.

“We did a number of design workshops with people in the 18-to-30 range to look at what types of items would be useful to them and that they would actually wear.”

Australia has the highest rates of melanoma in the world, and Queensland has the highest rate within Australia, with more than 3600 people diagnosed with melanoma in Queensland each year, on top of other forms of skin cancer.

Boase said while most people take sun precautions if they are going to the beach or other forms of outdoor recreation, they often don’t take precautions in their daily life, despite just a few minutes of direct sun being enough to damage skin in some cases.

The researchers now hope to find an industry partner to manufacture wearable pieces at scale, with an eye to targeting the vulnerable young adult age group.

“We think that’s a group that’s under-served by sun safety messaging, there’s a lot of resources for kids and for older people, but not for younger people,” Boase said.

“Ideally we’d love to partner with a sporting brand or lifestyle brand who have an interest in sun safety, that would be the fastest way to get it into people’s hands in a way that’s meaningful to them.”