Nanostructured gels and sensors for preventive and sustainable conservation of works of art

The aim of this project is to study, from different points of view, the potentiality of new technologies in the field of the diagnostic, restoration and conservation of cultural heritage. In particular soft matters and LSPR sensing are the main topics of this work. The objectives of this work can be summarized as follow: 1. Development and characterization of an aqueous soft system containing hydroxypropyl guar crosslinked by borax, with the addition of glycerol as plasticizer, having potential applications in the cleaning of artistic surfaces; 2. Assessment of the efficacy of recently developed highly viscous dispersions in the removal of a gypsum degradation patina from carbonatic stones, after the embedding with chelating agents; 3. Development of a smart and cheap LSPR sensor, exploring the tunability of gold nanostructures at a PDMS surface through a double-growth approach.