Sulfate reducing bacteria as bio-cleaning agents: Development of new methodologies and study cases
Type
ArticleAuthors
Balloi, AnnalisaLombardi, Emanuela
Troiano, Federica
Polo, Andrea
Capitelli, Francesca
Gulotta, Davide
Toniolo, Lucia
Lucchini, Anna
Daffonchio, Daniele

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionBioscience Program
Extreme Systems Microbiology Lab
Date
2015-01-01Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/664983
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Show full item recordAbstract
In the last decades, the contribution of different scientifi c disciplines in the fi eld of restoration and conservation of cultural heritage to fi nding alternative methods of investigation that are even more effective and fully respect artworks, operators and environment, has greatly increased. An example is the University of Milan patent that provides for the use of some specialized bacteria as cleaning agents. This method, known as biocleaning, is based on the use of Desulfovibrio vulgaris, a sulfate reducing bacterium, for the removal of sulfate alterations from stone surfaces. Recently, the university spin-off Micro4yoU purchased the patent by initiating a series of investments aimed at enhancing the commercial product from prototype. The present work describes: the desulfation mechanism operated by Desulfovibrio vulgaris and the technological shift necessary to obtain a biological formulation usable in situ, with two practical case studies.Citation
Balloi, A., Lombardi, E., Troiano, F., Polo, A., Capitelli, F., Gulotta, D., Toniolo, L., Lucchini, A., & Daffonchio, D. (2017). Sulfate Reducing Bacteria as Bio-cleaning Agents: Development of New Methodologies and Study Cases. <i>Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage</i>, <i>Vol 15</i>, No 2 (2015): Special Issue for Second Conference on Biology and Archaeobiology – from Knowledge to Preventive Conservation. https://doi.org/10.6092/ISSN.1973-9494/7123Sponsors
The authors are grateful to Alberto Gnesutta, descendant of the poetess Anna Zuccari and patron of the restoration work, and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici di Milano, Italy. For the work on the mural paintings of the Queen Theodolinda Chapel, the authors thank Gian Carlo Lanterna of OPD and Claudio Seccaroni, researcher at ENEA. A special thank you to Bresciani s.r.l. for the fi nancial support.Publisher
University of Bolognaasperti@cs.unibo.itAdditional Links
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/view/7123ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.6092/ISSN.1973-9494/7123
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