Polar and non-polar organic binder characterization in Pompeian wall paintings: comparison to a simulated painting mimicking an "a secco" technique.
The use of Fourier transform infrared spectromicroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) allowed us to characterize the composition of polar and non-polar binders present in sporadic wall paint fragments taken from Pompeii's archaeological excavation. The analyses of the polar and non-polar binder components extracted from paint powder layer showed the presence of amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids but the absence of proteinaceous material. These results are consistent with a water tempera painting mixture composed of pigments, flours, gums, and oils and are in agreement with those obtained from a simulated wall paint sample made for mimicking an ancient "a secco" technique. Notably, for the first time, we report the capability to discriminate by tandem MS the presence of free amino acids in the paint layer.
Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy.
Gaetano
G
Corso
Monica
M
Gelzo
Carmen
C
Sanges
Angela
A
Chambery
Antimo
A
Di Maro
Valeria
V
Severino
Antonio
A
Dello Russo
Ciro
C
Piccioli
Paolo
P
Arcari
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D007558:Italy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010150:Paint / Q000032:analysis*; D010151:Paintings; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D005227:Fatty Acids