Damage assessment of parchment at the collagen fibril level using atomic force microscopy and mechanical testing at the macro level

The aim of this paper is to describe how atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to assess damage in parchment at the collagen fibril level on exposure to relative humidity (RH) fluctuations at a given temperature, and to pollutants. A method was developed for quantification of AFM images and data were found to correlate with shrinkage temperature of parchment fibres. The effects of collagen denaturation were also observed by micro-thermal analysis and at the macromolecular level by controlled-environment dynamic mechanical analysis. Internally generated volatile organic acids in storage enclosures are considered as the recent MEMORI project showed that their presence can lead to a lowering of pH, resulting in collagen denaturation and surface gelatinisation. The latter will have a different response to fluctuations in RH and temperature, and further damage will occur. In the current NANOFORART project, novel nanoparticle formulations have been developed and applied for adjustment of pH in parchment.