Breakthrough Conductive Nail Polish Turns Fingernails Into Touchscreen Styluses

A chemistry student wanted her long fingernails to work with a touchscreen, so she developed a clear, conductive nail polish to solve the problem.

This idea comes from the mind of Manasi Desai, a chemistry student at Centenary College of Louisiana, and her advisor, Joshua Lawrence. Most touch-based devices, including phones and tablets, rely on capacitive touch. These screens project an electrostatic field that is disrupted when a conductive object, typically a fleshy fingertip, touches the surface. However, for those sporting long fingernails or acrylics (both of which are natural insulators), manipulating touchscreens often means using the side of fingers at awkward angles.

The most successful prototype utilizes a combination of ethanolamine and taurine, an amino acid commonly found in energy drinks. These ingredients facilitate a process known as proton hopping. When the polish is applied and dried, it creates a surface where protons can jump between molecules when they encounter the electric field of a touchscreen. This movement of charge is just enough to trick the device into registering a touch event from the nail, just as it would from a fingertip.

Beyond potential benefits to the multi-billion dollar nail industry, the application could have significant lifestyle plusses as well. The researchers were inspired after speaking with a phlebotomist who struggled to log patient data on tablets because her long nails prevented the screen from responding. The polish could be offer a solution for folks with very dry skin or carpenters and musicians with callused fingertips.