Japan JSPS Program: Use of Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry for Assessing the State of Preservation of Proteinaceous Materials

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9600262 Becker This award supports a 12 month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Mary Becker at the Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Becker will work with Dr. Chie Sano, senior researcher in the Conservation Science Department ast the Institute, on a research project entitled, "The Use of Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry for Assessing the State of the Preservation of Proteinaceous Materials". The proposed research will develop analytical techniques sensitive to chemical alterations prior to their manifestation as physical changes in museum objects. A gas chromatograph (GC) interfaced with a mass spectrometry (MS) and combined with an initial pyrolysis (Py) step will be used to reveal the concentrations and number of pyrolysis products of Nylon 6,6 change as a function of heat treatment. Since soluble fragments with a distribution of molecular weights are formed as silk deteriorates, it is anticipated that this technique (Py-GC-MS) will be useful in monitoring the chemical alterations as a function of aging. Ascertaining the complex nature of natural degradation and that which occurs during pyrolysis, the research will examine if changes in the fragmentation patterns of naturally degraded proteins in silk can indicate the state of preservation. A systematic study of aged silks could not only supply information on the state of preservation of silk but will also determine the usefulness of this technique as a strategy for routine analysis of proteinaceous materials found in cultural property objects. ***