title: Characterization of pigments and ligands in a wall painting fragment from Liternum archaeological park (Italy).
abstract: Spectroscopic and MS techniques were used to characterize the pigments and the composition of polar and nonpolar binders of a stray wall painting fragment from Liternum (Italy) archaeological excavation. X-ray fluorescence and diffraction analysis of the decorations indicated mainly the presence of calcite, quartz, hematite, cinnabar, and cuprorivaite. Infrared spectroscopy, GC coupled to flame-ionization detector, and MS analysis of the polar and nonpolar components extracted from paint layers from three different color regions revealed the presence of free amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. Interestingly, LC-MS shotgun analysis of the red painting region showed the presence of αS1-casein of buffalo origin. Compared to our previous results from Pompeii's wall paintings, even though the Liternum painting mixture contained also binders of animal origin, the data strongly suggest that in both cases a tempera painting technique was utilized.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corso
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelzo
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chambery
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Severino
authors.forename: Antimo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Maro
authors.forename: Filomena Schiano
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Lomoriello
authors.forename: Oceania
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: D'Apolito
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dello Russo
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gargiulo
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piccioli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arcari
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D002364:Caseins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007558:Italy; D008024:Ligands; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010150:Paint / Q000032:analysis*; D010151:Paintings; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002364:Caseins; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008024:Ligands