Sustainability

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Ranalli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Science and Territory, University of Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis, 1, 86100 Campobasso CB, Italy
Interests: Cultural Heritage; artworks; biocleaning; microorganisms

Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Zanardini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Ravasi, 2, 21100 Varese VA, Italy
Interests: Biodeterioration; Bioconservation; artworks; biocleaning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is designed to focus contemporary research in Biocleaning Technologies for Cultural Heritage (BTCH) as new frontiers of biorecovery and/or bioconservation of artworks in the World. Previous research on BTCH has been focused principally on the use of enzymes, and later on microorganisms (mainly cell living bacteria), in the last 40 and 15 years, respectively. The Special Issue will, therefore, provide an opportunity for Authors to spotlight their contributions to the interdisciplinary fields of history, art, science, environment, business, economics, marketing and management related to the BTCH implications, are all welcome. The following themes and questions would be of particular interest (NB: this list is not exhaustive):

How are well the BTCH technologies known and widespread in developed countries?
How are considered in western/easter countries?
What are the current trends of research in BTCH?
What are the important contemporary case-study of BTCH ?
What problems needed to be solved to increase the use of BTCH ?
What are implications of BTCH in developed/developing countries?
Where can BTCH research offer best practices in artworks recovery ?
What are the practical and methodological challenges of conducting BTCH research?
What are the practical challenges of implementing BTCH strategy in their use?

In addition to the topics indicated by the keywords below, we welcome any other topics that may be suited to this Special Issue. We welcome advanced materials (nano- ), methodologies and analytical techniques including experiments, qualitative analyses, or quantitative modeling, monitoring, and tests both at laboratory and onsite levels, on artworks belong to the BTCH and/or CH. We also encourage papers, including literature reviews that offer strong theoretical frameworks for future research programs in these fields.

Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Ranalli
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Zanardini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Artworks
Cultural Heritage
Biocleaning
Enzyme
Microorganisms
Bioconsolidation
Bioprecipitation
Biorecovery
Biorestoration
Bioprotection
Monitoring
Biotechnologies

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 4879 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Granite Pavement Nitrate Desalination: Traditional Methods vs. Biocleaning Methods

by Pilar Bosch-Roig, Hugo Allegue and Ignacio Bosch

Sustainability 2019, 11(15), 4227; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154227 - 5 Aug 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3439

Abstract

High levels of nitrate contamination of granite stone are a major problem, affecting large surfaces of many historical monuments, particularly in the north-west of Spain. This study showed a comparison between different traditional and biotechnological desalination methods in order to evaluate the most appropriate cleaning treatment for nitrate desalination of granite. Three types of traditional desalination methods (with cellulose and/or sepiolite) were compared with two types of bacterial denitrifying treatments that used Pseudomonas stutzeri (with cotton wool or with agar 2% as delivery systems). The in-situ tests were carried in the Cristo Chapel of Stª Mª de Conxo in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), which has a high nitrate salt content in its granite pavement. Conductivity and nitrate content measurements, biological monitoring and digital image analysis were performed to determinate the efficacy of each method. The findings showed that both techniques succeeded in reducing salt content, but bio-desalination was the more effective method tested. This work contributes to the practical implementation of BTCH (Biocleaning Technologies for Cultural Heritage) for the bio-desalination of granite surfaces, and to the evaluation of the use of non-destructive cleaning techniques based on digital imaging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in Biocleaning Technologies for Cultural Heritage)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 840 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Potential Use of Microorganisms as Restorative Agents: An Update

by Irene Soffritti, Maria D’Accolti, Luca Lanzoni, Antonella Volta, Matteo Bisi, Sante Mazzacane and Elisabetta Caselli

Sustainability 2019, 11(14), 3853; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143853 - 15 Jul 2019

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 4799

Abstract

The biodeterioration process involves every type of Cultural Heritage item, including monuments, stoneworks, frescoes, and easel paintings. The accurate study of the microbial and fungal communities dwelling on artworks, and involved in their deterioration, is essential for the adoption of optimal prevention and conservation strategies. Conventional restorative methods, that usually involve chemical and physical technologies, present some disadvantages, including short-term and unsatisfactory effects, potential damage to the treated works, human toxicity, and environmental hazards. Research in the field of restoration has paved the way for innovative biological approaches, or ‘biorestoration’, in which microorganisms are not only considered as an eventual danger for artworks, but rather as potential tools for restoration. The present review describes the main aspects of the biodeterioration process and highlights the most relevant biorestoration approaches: bioconsolidation, biocleaning, biological control, and new promising bio-decontaminating compounds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in Biocleaning Technologies for Cultural Heritage)

► Show Figures