[CPProt.net] Mighty molecules rescue at-risk art. Nanotechnology solves 'almost all' restoration problems

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Mighty molecules rescue at-risk art 
 Nanotechnology solves 'almost all' restoration problems 

(ANSA) - Rome, October 5 - A team of Italian experts claims it has solved
"almost all" the challenges art restoration faces using nanotechnologies .

Nanotechnology is the branch of engineering that deals with the manufacture
of things smaller than 100 nanometres - one nanometre is one billionth of a
metre - and the manipulation of molecules and atoms .

In recent years scientists at Florence University have been applying
developments in the field to art restoration. The results have been
remarkable .

"Frescoes, oil paintings, old books and wood - we have resolved almost all
the most significant problems," said Professor Piero Baglioni, the head of
the Florence University nanotechnology team .

Speaking at a Milan conference on how chemistry can "help art", Baglioni
said that the problem with conventional restoration substances is that, no
matter how gentle they are, their chemical compositions are always different
to those of the surface of the work of art .

This means the materials used to remove dirt from these unique objects and
preserve them, inevitably alter and damage them to some degree too. With
developments in nanotechnology though, it is now possible to produce
restoration substances that match the composition of the works they are
applied to .

"We have been using techniques based on the dispersion of nanoparticles in
solvents for about six or seven years," explained Baglioni. "This enables us
to restore the inorganic material, especially in frescoes, because
chemically they respect the composition of the painting .

"In short, the work of art heals and gets cleaned." The cutting-edge
techniques developed at Florence University have been used on works all over
the world, including at the Louvre Museum in Paris. A Masaccio fresco at
Florence's Brancacci Chapel and several Piero Della Francesca pieces in
Arezzo are among those to have been transformed in Italy. According to
UNESCO, 60% of the world's most important works of art and architecture are
in Italy, so Baglioni's team is set to have a busy future .