Experimental comparative study for the evaluation of the efficiency of using some traditional methods and nano materials for the treatment of biodeteriorated paper manuscripts - With application on a selected object

Abstract

Potential high bio-deterioration of certain microorganisms due to their metabolic activities on organic materials causes serious problems in the conservation of cultural heritage. This study aims to isolation and identification of causative biodeterioration microbes and create a new approach for the treatment of biodeteriorated paper manuscripts. Macroscopic observations of collected manuscripts, isolation of microbes from the historical samples, microscopic identification for fungal isolates, identification of bacterial isolates using morphological, physiological and Vitek 2 methods were carried out in this study. Molecular identification showed that eleven bacterial species and fifteen fungal species were identified using 16S rRNA and ITS sequences, respectively. Paper models conservation effect of Ag-NPs, ZnO-NPs, AgNO3 and Zn(CH3CO2)2.2H2O against strains Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum was evaluated. Color change (CIE L*a*b*), tensile strength and elongation, FT-IR and SEM were assessed to know the effects of microorganisms and materials used on paper properties. The manuscript under the title “Al-Mosamara Sharh Al-Mosayara” , dated back to 1124 A.H, and deposit in Al-Azhar Library, Cairo, was used for the applied study. Analytical techniques and investigations used for the evaluation of the manuscript state were optical microscope, investigation of black ink, acidity ratio measurement, FTIR, SEM, EDX, XRD, and microbiological investigation. The required conservation steps of the manuscript studied were carried out and included sterilization by using 2.0mM Ag-NPs, cleaning, deacidification by Ca(OH)2-NPS, paper restoration and consolidation by Klucel G. Screening of cellulolytic activity exhibited that Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum achieved the highest cellulolytic activity amongst obtained bacterial and fungal strains. The results revealed that application of 1.0 or 2.0mM silver NPs exhibited the best preservation effect on the paper models achieving 100% microbial inhibition (bacteria and fungi, respectively). The manuscript investigation showed that cellulosic fibers is cotton and the black ink is iron-gall.