Characterization of fresh and aged natural ingredients used in historical ointments by molecular spectroscopic techniques: IR, Raman and fluorescence.

Natural organic materials used to prepare pharmaceutical mixtures including ointments and balsams have been characterized by a combined non-destructive spectroscopic analytical approach. Three classes of materials which include vegetable oils (olive, almond and palm tree), gums (Arabic and Tragacanth) and beeswax are considered in this study according to their widespread use reported in ancient recipes. Micro-FTIR, micro-Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies have been applied to fresh and mildly thermally aged samples. Vibrational characterization of these organic compounds is reported together with tabulated frequencies, highlighting all spectral features and changes in spectra which occur following artificial aging. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy has been shown to be particularly useful for the assessment of changes in oils after aging; spectral difference between Tragacanth and Arabic gum could be due to variations in origin and processing of raw materials. Analysis of these materials using non-destructive spectroscopic techniques provided important analytical information which could be used to guide further study.

A round robin exercise in archaeometry: analysis of a blind sample reproducing a seventeenth century pharmaceutical ointment.

Chemical analysis of ancient residues of pharmaceutical or cosmetic preparations such as balms or ointments is made problematic by the high complexity of these mixtures, composed of organic and inorganic materials. Consequently, a multi-analytical approach and special caution in the interpretation of the results are necessary. In order to contribute to the improvement of analytical strategies for the characterization of complex residues and to reconstruct ancient medical practices, a replica of a pharmaceutical formulation of the seventeenth century was prepared in the laboratory according to a historically documented recipe. In a round robin exercise, a portion of the preparation was analysed as a blind sample by 11 laboratories using various analytical techniques. These included spectroscopic, chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods. None of the laboratories was able to completely reconstruct the complex formulation, but each of them gave partial positive results. The round robin exercise has demonstrated that the application of a multi-analytical approach can permit a complete and reliable reconstruction of the composition. Finally, on the basis of the results, an analytical protocol for the study of residues of ancient medical and pharmaceutical preparations has been outlined.

Mid-IR fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy for identifying the finish on wooden furniture.

Mid-IR fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) is a totally noninvasive infrared analytical technique allowing the investigation of artworks without the need for any sampling. The development and optimization of this analytical methodology can provide a tool that is capable of supporting conservators during the first steps of their interventions, yielding fast results and dramatically reducing the number of samples needed to identify the materials involved. Furthermore, since reflection IR spectra suffer from important spectral anomalies that complicate accurate spectral interpretation, it is important to characterize known reference materials and substrates in advance. This work aims to verify the possibility of investigating and identifying the most widely used wood finishes by means of fiber-optic (chalcogenide and metal halides) mid-infrared spectroscopy. Two historically widely employed wood finishes (beeswax, shellac) and two modern ones (a hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and a microcrystalline wax) were investigated in an extended IR range (from 1000 to 6000 cm(-1)) with reflectance spectroscopy and with FORS. The broad spectral response of the MCT detector was exploited in order to include overtones and combination bands from the NIR spectral range in the investigation. The reflectance spectra were compared with those collected in transmission mode in order to highlight modifications to shapes and intensities, to assign absorptions, and finally to select "marker" bands indicating the presence of certain finishing materials, even when applied onto a substrate such as wood, which shows many absorptions in the mid-infrared region. After the characterization, the different products were applied to samples of aged pear wood and investigated with the same techniques in order to check the ability of mid-IR FORS to reveal the presence and composition of the product on the wooden substrate.

Effect of fluorinated groups on photooxidative stability of polymeric protectives applied on marble.

Some new protective copolymers and a commercial one have been tested on Candoglia marble, a very low porosity stone. Two of the polymers contained a partially fluorinated methacrylic monomer, 2,2,2 trifluoro ethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), in combination with either an acrylic, methyl acrylate (MA) or a vinyl ether, n-butyl vinyl ether (n-BVE) unit. Two copolymers, ethyl methacrylate/n-butyl vinyl ether and ethyl methacrylate (EMA)/methyl acrylate (Paraloid B72), were non-fluorinated and similar in compositions and molar ratio. The aim of the work is to test the copolymers and compare the performances of fluorinated new polymers with the non fluorinated one and with the largely used commercial product. The results obtained demonstrate that the introduction, even in limited amounts, of fluorine atoms in the side ester groups of methacrylic type polymers really improves their protective effect and the durability of the stone treatments. The best results were obtained with the copolymer TFEM/MA which is the fluorinated homologous of Paraloid B72.

Adsorption Behavior of Amphiphilic Polymers.

The work reported here involves a study of the adsorption behavior of some amphiphilic polymers containing alternating copolymers of stearyl methacrylate, mono-n-octylitaconate, styrene, and 1-octadecene with maleic anhydride. We have employed chromatographic and thermogravimetric measurements in order to characterize the adsorption process. Silica gel was the stationary phase in the case of the polar column, and a mixture of THF/toluene or chloroform/toluene as the mobile phase. Toluene content in the mobile phase affects the capacity to desorb the polymer from the interface. The adsorption of the polymers onto silica substrates from toluene between other solvents has been measured also with static experiments. The results are discussed in terms of the incorporation of hydrophilic groups as maleic-anhydride or hydrophobic groups as stearyl and n-octyl chains. The solvent effect was also considered. Comparison of the adsorption isotherms for PA-18 onto hydrophilic substrate (Aerosil 200) from two different solvents shows strong competition of THF with the surface functionality of the substrate by the PA-18. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.