M. Simileanu, M. Giurginca, L. Miu, R. Radvan, Influence of laser restoration method on the collagen based artifacts - J. Optoelectron Adv Mater., 10/8 (2008) 2168-2173

Title: Influence of laser restoration method on the collagen based artifacts

Abstract: This paper is part of an ample study of the effect that the laser cleaning procedures has on collagenous composites, such as leather and parchment. Cleaning procedures applied on organic substrates of artifacts can be challenging due to their high sensitivity to all exterior factors, their fragile nature demanding a high precision and accurate monitoring of the cleaning process. Although the laser cleaning applications on organic materials - leather in particular, are quite avoided, from the reported results [1,2] it proves to be an innovative technique that has the potential to provide contactless, chemical-free cleaning of historically important documents, overall providing a high accuracy cleaning The laser effect on this type of organic materials is still poorly understood The study avers the ageing of the materials and specific issues concerning conservation of their photomechanical properties, by correlating various informations obtained with specific methods of analysis such as optical microscopy, shrinkage temperature of the organic fibers and molecular spectroscopy (FT-IR and UV-VIS-NIR domains).

Key words: laser cleaning; collagen; FT-IR medium and NIR; UV-VIS spectroscopy; optical microscopy; shrinkage temperature