Unveiling the Composition of La Pajarita PVAc-Based Paints in Joan Miró's Studio and in Three Artworks from the 1970s.

In this study, we present the first characterisation of the polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) paints of commercial Spanish brand La Pajarita preserved in the studios of Joan Miró (1893-1983) in Mallorca, Spain. Investigation of several black and white paint samples using complementary analytical techniques (XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR, and Py-GC-MS) allowed for the identification of pigments and binding media in studio materials, as well as in three artworks dating from the 1970s. Through comparative analysis, it was possible to find significant similarities between the composition of La Pajarita paints conserved in cans in the artist's studio with black and white painted layers from three artworks by Miró.

Mattel's ©Barbie: Preventing Plasticizers Leakage in PVC Artworks and Design Objects through Film-Forming Solutions.

The main conservation problem of p-PVC artworks is phthalate-based plasticizer migration. Phthalate migration from the bulk to the surface of the materials leads to the formation of a glossy and oily film on the outer layers, ultimately reducing the flexibility of the material. This study aimed to develop a removable coating for the preservation of contemporary artworks and design objects made of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (p-PVC).

Mattel's Barbie: Investigation of a Symbol-Analysis of Polymeric Matrices and Degradation Phenomena for Sixteen Dolls from 1959 to 1976.

Mattel's Barbie dolls are the most famous and iconic dolls since 1959. Today, they are being collected by individuals and often conserved in museum environments due to their cultural and historical significance reflecting everyday life and historical events. However, just like most museum objects made of plastics, both historical and more recent Barbies show evident degradation phenomena.

Cytotoxicity inhibition of catechol's type molecules by grafting on TiO and FeO nanoparticles surface.

The potential toxicity deriving from the interaction between chemicals and manufactured nanoparticles (NPs) represents an emerging threat to the environment and human health. Several studies have focused on the risks and (eco)toxicity of manufactured NPs as a consequence of their extensive use in recent years, however, there is still a limited understanding of the combined effects caused by manufactured NPs in the presence of other environmental contaminants. This is particularly relevant to aquatic environments, where many types of pollutants are inevitably released and can be involved in many kinds of reactions.

How Can Ozone and Relative Humidity Affect Artists' Alkyd Paints? A FT-IR and Py-GC/MS Systematic Study.

Knowledge of the chemical-physical reactions that determine the main degradation behaviour of artists' alkyd paints represents one of the main problems within the museum exhibitions. The collection and interpretation of these data on degradation phenomena, especially after ozone exposure at different relative humidity values, can be useful for their conservation needs. Therefore, a systematic investigation of these materials may help achieve this goal.

Data Fusion Approach to Simultaneously Evaluate the Degradation Process Caused by Ozone and Humidity on Modern Paint Materials.

The knowledge of the atmospheric degradation reactions affecting the stability of modern materials is still of current interest. In fact, environmental parameters, such as relative humidity (RH), temperature, and pollutant agents, often fluctuate due to natural or anthropogenic climatic changes. This study focuses on evaluating analytical and statistical strategies to investigate the degradation processes of acrylic and styrene-acrylic paints after exposure to ozone (O) and RH.

The role of bio-pollutants in the indoor air quality of old museum buildings: artworks biodeterioration as preview of human diseases.

Indoor air quality in buildings is strongly affected by chemical, physical, and biological agents. Long exposure to inadequate indoor air quality can be very dangerous for the building occupants and can lead to chronic diseases associated with the sick building syndrome (SBS). In this paper, the large presence of biological pollutants in the indoor rooms of an old building and its strict relationship with the outdoor/indoor air conditions were investigated studying Coronini Cronberg Palace Foundation, a historic house museum of the sixteenth century in Gorizia (Italy), where biological contamination affecting the artworks can soon become potentially harmful also for operators and visitors.

A Critical Review on the Analysis of Metal Soaps in Oil Paintings.

Up to 70 % of the oil paintings conserved in collections present metal soaps, which result from the chemical reaction between metal ions present in the painted layers and free fatty acids from the lipidic binders. In recent decades, conservators and conservation scientists have been systematically identifying various and frequent conservation problems that can be linked to the formation of metal soaps. It is also increasingly recognized that metal soap formation may not compromise the integrity of paint so there is a need for careful assessment of the implications of metal soaps for conservation.

Disclosing the composition of unknown historical drug formulations: an emblematic case from the Spezieria of St. Maria della Scala in Rome.

This paper reports a pioneering study of an unknown historical drug formulation preserved in the Spezieria of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome, founded at the end of the seventeenth century by the Discalced Carmelites. Due to limited literature related to pharmaceutical remedies and drugs of the Early Modern Era (between the XV and XVIII centuries) and the complexity in their formulations, the study of these drugs represents a great challenge. The untargeted nature of the selected drug required a multi-analytical approach with complementary techniques to formulate a compositional hypothesis: FT-IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography-associated/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were successfully employed to identify different organic compounds.

Accelerated Ageing Procedures to Assess the Stability of an Unconventional Acrylic-Wax Polymeric Emulsion for Contemporary Art.

This research evaluates the stability of an aqueous emulsion of acrylic copolymers and waxes. Edelwachs, generally applied on wood, has been recently used as an unconventional medium in contemporary painting. Through Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) and Fourier Transformed Infrared Attenuated Total Reflectance (FT-IR-ATR) analyses, the composition of Edelwachs was defined as a mixture of acrylic polymers (MA, MMA, nBA, nBMA), Carnauba and microcrystalline waxes and additives.

Investigation of modern oil paints through a physico-chemical integrated approach. Emblematic cases from Valencia, Spain.

The study and the characterisation of modern and contemporary oil paintings is still a challenging issue, in particular considering the significant changes in paint production across the 19th and 20th centuries. This paper presents the results of the first physico-chemical integrated study of the artistic materials used in six paintings from the School of Art and Higher Design of Valencia (Escola d'Art i Superior de Disseny, EASD-Valencia), artworks created between 1871 and 1943 by four famous Valencian artists: Salustiano Asenso Arozarena, Salvador Abril I Blasco, Enrique Navas Escuriet and José Bellver Delmás. A wide range of inorganic and organic compounds was identified through a multi-analytical approach by means of visible reflectance spectroscopy, XRF, μ-Raman, FTIR and GC-MS.

Quantitative determination of un-derivatised amino acids in artistic mural paintings using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

The tempera painting technique is one of the most common methods used throughout art history. Tempera is defined by the type of binders used and in this work we study protein-based temperas. Proteinaceous binders can be characterized by the chromatographic determination of the amino acids present where techniques are either based on gas chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to mass spectrometry.