Evaluation of the Irradiation Treatment Effects on Ancient Parchment Samples
Monia Vadrucci,
Cristina Cicero,
Claudia Mazzuca,
Leonardo Severini,
Daniela Uccelletti,
Emily Schifano,
Fulvio Mercuri,
Ugo Zammit,
Noemi Orazi,
Francesco D’Amico,
Pietro Parisse
Affiliations
Monia Vadrucci
Particle Accelerator for Medical Application Laboratory, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Science and Research Direction, Italian Space Agency (ASI), Via del Politecnico, 00133 Rome, Italy
Cristina Cicero
Department of Literary, Philosophical and Art History Studies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Claudia Mazzuca
Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
Leonardo Severini
Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
Daniela Uccelletti
Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin,” Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Emily Schifano
Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin,” Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Fulvio Mercuri
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Ugo Zammit
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Noemi Orazi
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Francesco D’Amico
Beamline IUVS, Sincrotrone Trieste in Area Science Park, S.S. 14 km 163.5, 34012 Basovizza, Italy
Pietro Parisse
Istituto Officina dei Materiali, CNR, S.S. 14 km 163.5 in Area Science Park, 34149 Basovizza, Italy
In this work, the effect of X-ray irradiation as a disinfection treatment in original ancient parchment samples, belonging to a discarded book cover of a 16th-century archival register, has been evaluated. Specifically, the bacterial and fungal species isolated from the book cover have been characterized and then irradiated with increasing doses of X-rays with the aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the antimicrobial protocol on the isolated microorganisms. The deterioration effects induced by the X-ray treatment as well as the natural aging on the collagen matrix of the parchment sample have been tested by employing several techniques, namely, Light Transmission Analysis, Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy, UV Resonant Raman spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The results reveal that the irradiation treatment applied to our ancient parchment samples deteriorated by biological attack and other naturally occurring phenomena, possibly associated with inappropriate conservation conditions, does not seem to induce further damage factors even when large doses of irradiation are employed. The X-rays-based disinfection treatment effects are limited on the collagen support and this confirms the potential of this method in mass disinfection of library and archival materials.
