Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces
The cleaning of some wooden artefacts can be challenging due to peculiar surface roughness and/or particular finishing treatments that favour the deposition of dirt and contaminants. The most common cleaning system used by conservators is agar gel, characterized by its rigidity and brittleness, whic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/1/36 |
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| author | Chaehoon Lee Francesca Di Turo Barbara Vigani Maduka L. Weththimuni Silvia Rossi Fabio Beltram Pasqualantonio Pingue Maurizio Licchelli Marco Malagodi Giacomo Fiocco Francesca Volpi |
| author_facet | Chaehoon Lee Francesca Di Turo Barbara Vigani Maduka L. Weththimuni Silvia Rossi Fabio Beltram Pasqualantonio Pingue Maurizio Licchelli Marco Malagodi Giacomo Fiocco Francesca Volpi |
| author_sort | Chaehoon Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The cleaning of some wooden artefacts can be challenging due to peculiar surface roughness and/or particular finishing treatments that favour the deposition of dirt and contaminants. The most common cleaning system used by conservators is agar gel, characterized by its rigidity and brittleness, which challenges the cleaning of rough and irregular surfaces typical of most wooden artefacts. In this work, alginate crosslinked with calcium (CA) and konjac glucomannan crosslinked with borax (KGB) gels were proposed to solve this issue. They were prepared and applied to smooth- and rough-surfaced mock-ups replicating wooden musical instruments’ surfaces that had been subsequently covered by artificial soiling and sweat contaminants. The mechanical properties of CA and KGB gels, including their stability over a 60-day storage time, were evaluated by a texture analyzer, while cleaning efficacy was analytically evaluated by non-invasive X-ray fluorescence mapping and profilometric investigation. CA gel appeared to have a higher tensile strength and elongation at break. KGB gel was shown to be soft and resilient, indicating its suitability for cleaning rough surfaces. After repeating the cleaning application three times on the rough-surfaced mock-ups, both the CA and KGB gels were shown to have cleaning efficacy. The results obtained with CA and KGB were compared with those from the Agar application. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:43:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c1d9263bd05a436e9ea2c5bdce908226 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:43:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-c1d9263bd05a436e9ea2c5bdce9082262023-12-02T00:48:49ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-12-011513610.3390/polym15010036Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden SurfacesChaehoon Lee0Francesca Di Turo1Barbara Vigani2Maduka L. Weththimuni3Silvia Rossi4Fabio Beltram5Pasqualantonio Pingue6Maurizio Licchelli7Marco Malagodi8Giacomo Fiocco9Francesca Volpi10Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyNational Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology (NEST), Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyNational Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology (NEST), Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, ItalyNational Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology (NEST), Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyArvedi Laboratory of Non-Invasive Diagnostics, CISRiC, University of Pavia, 26100 Cremona, ItalyArvedi Laboratory of Non-Invasive Diagnostics, CISRiC, University of Pavia, 26100 Cremona, ItalyArvedi Laboratory of Non-Invasive Diagnostics, CISRiC, University of Pavia, 26100 Cremona, ItalyThe cleaning of some wooden artefacts can be challenging due to peculiar surface roughness and/or particular finishing treatments that favour the deposition of dirt and contaminants. The most common cleaning system used by conservators is agar gel, characterized by its rigidity and brittleness, which challenges the cleaning of rough and irregular surfaces typical of most wooden artefacts. In this work, alginate crosslinked with calcium (CA) and konjac glucomannan crosslinked with borax (KGB) gels were proposed to solve this issue. They were prepared and applied to smooth- and rough-surfaced mock-ups replicating wooden musical instruments’ surfaces that had been subsequently covered by artificial soiling and sweat contaminants. The mechanical properties of CA and KGB gels, including their stability over a 60-day storage time, were evaluated by a texture analyzer, while cleaning efficacy was analytically evaluated by non-invasive X-ray fluorescence mapping and profilometric investigation. CA gel appeared to have a higher tensile strength and elongation at break. KGB gel was shown to be soft and resilient, indicating its suitability for cleaning rough surfaces. After repeating the cleaning application three times on the rough-surfaced mock-ups, both the CA and KGB gels were shown to have cleaning efficacy. The results obtained with CA and KGB were compared with those from the Agar application.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/1/36sodium alginatekonjac glucomannangel cleaningprofilometerX-ray fluorescencetexture analysis |
| spellingShingle | Chaehoon Lee Francesca Di Turo Barbara Vigani Maduka L. Weththimuni Silvia Rossi Fabio Beltram Pasqualantonio Pingue Maurizio Licchelli Marco Malagodi Giacomo Fiocco Francesca Volpi Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces Polymers sodium alginate konjac glucomannan gel cleaning profilometer X-ray fluorescence texture analysis |
| title | Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces |
| title_full | Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces |
| title_fullStr | Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces |
| title_short | Biopolymer Gels as a Cleaning System for Differently Featured Wooden Surfaces |
| title_sort | biopolymer gels as a cleaning system for differently featured wooden surfaces |
| topic | sodium alginate konjac glucomannan gel cleaning profilometer X-ray fluorescence texture analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/1/36 |
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