Starvation wars - Return of the MgO nanoparticles against moulds

Autor: Franco-Castillo, Isabel, Matteis, Laura de, Marquina, Clara, García Guillén, Esther, Fuente, Jesús M. de la, Silva, Filomena, Mitchell, Scott G.
Rok vydání: 2021
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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Popis: Resumen del póster presentado al 18th International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Symposium (IBBS), celebrado online del 6 al 9 de septiembre de 2021.
Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae are highly proficient at colonizing artistic and architectural heritage and constitute the main biodeterioration agents in cultural heritage objects. The irreparable damage they cause to unique artefacts results in immeasurable cultural and societal losses to our shared cultural heritage, which represent an important social and economic resource for Europe. Besides, the microorganisms colonising the heritage objects could be a threat to the health of restorers and general public. Nanoparticles can help to mitigate the risk of biodeterioration in heritage objects. With the overall aim of preventing both bacterial and fungal colonization and deterioration of paper artefacts, we report the use of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) of average diameter 12 nm as potent antibacterial and antifungal agents. These MgO NPs not only display high antimicrobial activity against E. coli and B. subtilis, but also against fungi commonly found colonising paper heritage: A. niger, C. cladosporioides and T. reesei. Moreover, dispersions of MgO NPs on original 18th century paper samples from the Archives of the Spanish Royal Botanic Garden were effective at preventing bacterial and fungal colonisation without altering the aesthetics of the paper (ΔE < 3). Further assays prove MgO NPs also inhibit cellulase activity in the filamentous fungi T. reesei and A. niger, preventing the decomposition of the cellulose into glucose and thus eliminating their nutrient source.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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