Laser mass spectrometer microscopy for analysis of cultural heritage objects

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With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry and Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, a new collaborative project between Professor de Vries and his group at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and researchers at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in Los Angeles will develop a new technique capable of unambiguously identifying organic components in cultural heritage objects. The new method is based on a specialized form of laser mass spectrometry, combined with microscopy in a unique instrument. This approach will have the spatial resolution necessary to isolate small quantities of organic material in discrete layers of tiny mounted samples from paintings (called cross sections), and the sensitivity to provide molecularly specific identification of materials present in very low concentrations. The unambiguous identification of artists' materials at a molecular and microstructural level can elucidate historic geological or biological material sources, manufacturing processes and trade routes. An understanding of works of art additionally assists conservators and curators develop the storage and exhibition protocols necessary to protect and preserve works of art, and assists art historians in their investigations into the relationships between an object, the artist, and the historical and cultural environments in which it was created. The R2PI-uMS technique developed in this work is also expected to enhance scientific research in a number of diverse fields other than art conservation, ranging from organic surface analysis in the electronics industry, to analysis/testing in the modern paint industry, to the study of spatial distributions of metabolites in cells in botanical or biological studies. The graduate students that are involved in the project will have the unique opportunity of working in both academic and cultural heritage research environments, helping to foster the next generation of scientists engaged in cultural heritage science. In addition to training graduate students, the researchers will involve undergraduate and high school students in the framework of UCSB sponsored outreach programs to minority students and high schools and the Getty's Graduate Intern and Multicultural Undergraduate Internship programs. In an additional collaboration, students from Jackson State University, a historically black college, will also participate in the project. By involving such a diverse group of researchers, the PIs will work to increase participation of minority students in STEM fields.