Search results for "Pigments"
showing 10 items of 135 documents
Screening and mapping of pigments in paintings using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)
2015
The use of the scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) technique for identifying and mapping of both organic and inorganic pigments in sub-microsamples from pictorial specimens is described. This methodology, inspired by the voltammetry of immobilized particles technique, permits the study of textural properties of paint layers and mapping the distribution of pigment grains upon application of different potentials to the substrate. A combination of the redox competition SECM strategy with voltammetry yields a local identification methodology for different organic and inorganic pigments in paint samples.
Microanalytical characterization of decorations in handmade ancient floor tiles using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-O…
2013
In this study a total of 114 glazed decorations of 42 ceramic floor tiles, manufactured in Sicily fromthe 16th to 19 the 21th AD, were investigated. The micro sampling method, proposed by us, using a cotton swab soaked in hydrofluoric acid, includes advantages of high sensitivity, high selectivity, simplicity, speed, not expensive and can be considered non-destructive because the point of sampling remains invisible to the human eye. ICP-OES technique was used in this study. Twenty-four elements (Al, As, B, Be, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Ti, V and Zn) were determined in each colored enamel. Enameled decorations in Sicilian tiles were varied in tones an…
Characterization of Maya Blue Pigment in Pre-Classic and Classic Monumental Architecture of the Ancient Pre-Culombian City of Calakmul (Campeche, Mex…
2011
This paper presents the first evidence of the use of Maya Blue pigment in late pre-classic (c.300BC-300AD) architecture in the Maya Lowlands. This was detected combining an innovative technique, the voltammetry of microparticles (VMP), with atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM/EDX), visible spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The pigment was found on the polychrome facade of substructure IIC of pre-Columbian city of Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico). The identification of Maya Blue in this building may prove to be the earliest known use of this colour on the …
Polysaccharide remains in Maya mural paintings: is it an evidence of the use of plant gums as binding medium of pigments and additive in the mortar?
2020
A number of monosaccharides characteristic of plant gums were found in paint layers and preparation layers of samples of Maya mural paintings of 10 archaeological sites located in Campeche and Yucatan regions. This finding opens the question about the deliberate use of these organic polymers as additives for improving workability and mechanical properties in the preparation layer mortar and conferring cohesion to the pigments in the paint layer. The study performed by GC-MS has confirmed the presence, in significant amounts, of a series of monosaccharides, being glucose and mannose between the most abundantly found. Nevertheless, the low amount present in most of the samples hindered the qu…
Identification of a polyketide synthase gene (pksP) of Aspergillus fumigatus involved in conidial pigment biosynthesis and virulence.
1998
Aspergillus fumigatus is an important pathogen of the immunocompromised host causing pneumonia and invasive disseminated disease with high mortality. Previously, we identified a mutant strain (white, W) lacking conidial pigmentation and, in addition, the conidia showed a smooth surface morphology, whereas wild-type (WT) conidia are grey-green and have a typical ornamentation. W conidia appeared to be less protected against killing by the host defence, e.g., were more susceptible to oxidants in vitro and more efficiently damaged by human monocytes in vitro than WT conidia. When compared to the WT, the W mutant strain showed reduced virulence in a murine animal model. Genetic analysis suggest…
Biofilm development by clinical strains of non-pigmented rapidly growing mycobacteria
2009
AbstractThe relationship between clinical significance of non-pigmented, rapidly growing mycobacteria (NPRGM), in vitro biofilm development and sliding motility was evaluated in this study. One hundred and sixty-eight clinical strains of NPRGM were included. Forty-one of these were clinically significant isolates. Biofilm was formed by 123 strains. Seventy-six biofilm-positive and 25 biofilm-negative strains showed sliding motility. There was a relationship between clinical significance and biofilm development (p <0.000 001), sliding motility (p 0.0037) and species (p <0.000 001). No relationship was found between motility and biofilm development. The ability to develop biofilm is a charact…
Electrostatic control of the photoisomerization efficiency and optical properties in visual pigments: on the role of counterion quenching.
2009
Hybrid QM(CASPT2//CASSCF/6-31G*)/MM(Amber) computations have been used to map the photoisomerization path of the retinal chromophore in Rhodopsin and explore the reasons behind the photoactivity efficiency and spectral control in the visual pigments. It is shown that while the electrostatic environment plays a central role in properly tuning the optical properties of the chromophore, it is also critical in biasing the ultrafast photochemical event: it controls the slope of the photoisomerization channel as well as the accessibility of the S(1)/S(0) crossing space triggering the ultrafast decay. The roles of the E113 counterion, the E181 residue, and the other amino acids of the protein pock…
Fast and Efficient Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Perylenebisimides
2015
Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid bisimides have been widely studied as industrial pigments. Lately, these dyes have drawn considerable attention because of applications as photocatalysts and organic semi-conductors. Here, we report a novel method for fast and efficient synthesis of many different perylenebisimides, based on microwave-assisted reactions.
The Contribution of Microchemical Analyses and Diagnostic Imaging to the Conservation and Identification of the Degraded Surfaces of Hellenistic-Roma…
2020
The Archaeological Museum of Palermo (Sicily) has recently presented the results of the restoration of three wall paintings from the House of the Masks of Solunto archaeological site. These significant paintings, dating back to the first century BCE, are the most significant examples of Pompeian style discovered in Sicily to date. The cycle of frescoes unearthed is the best preserved and most complete example of wall painting dating to the Republican Roman period in Sicily. This house was a luxurious private residence built on two floors and centred around a peristyle. This fresco cycle embellished the walls of a banquet room (oecus) discovered during an archaeological excavation carried ou…
Joaquin Sorolla's pigment characterisation of the paintings ‘Vision of Spain’ by means of EDXRF portable system
2011
In this work, portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry was employed to the characterisation of the palette used by the Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla (1863–1923) in the paintings ‘Vision of Spain’, a set of 14 oils on canvas painted by Sorolla between 1911 and 1919 by order of Mr Archer Huntington to decorate the library of the Hispanic Society of America (HSA) in New York. The analyses, sponsored by BANCAJA and provided by the HSA, were carried out in situ, prior to the cleaning and restoration process, while the paintings hanging on the walls of the library of the HSA. The results revealed that the paintings were made over different priming layers containing, res…