Application of a Medical Diode Laser (810 nm) for Disinfecting Small Microbiologically Contaminated Spots on Degraded Collagenous Materials for Improved Biosafety in Objects of Exceptional Historical Value From the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Protection of Human Health

The research aim was to optimize the operating parameters of a diode laser irradiation for the effective disinfection of degraded collagenous materials. Historical leather shoes stored at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim (Poland) were the main study objects. Surfaces of contaminated small spots occurring on the degraded materials were sampled with moistened swabs and microbiologically examined using the molecular techniques MALDI-TOF MS, 16S rRNA, and NGS sequencing. The surfaces were colonized by bacteria with 106 CFU/100 cm2 and 104 CFU/100 cm2 by fungi, on average. Microorganisms of the genera Bacillus and Penicillium were predominant. The effectiveness of the laser treatment was assessed for the new and degraded collagenous materials against isolated environmental strains using four variants of exposure time and number of repetitions. 0.3 W/CW 2 × 2 min variant was the most effective and also did not noticeably change the color of the treated samples. The variant caused a reduction in the numbers of microorganisms by 96–100%. After 1 month, four types of leather were subjected to comprehensive physico-chemical analyses. SEM and FTIR techniques confirmed that laser irradiation in the selected optimal variant did not affect the surface morphology and collagen structure, while XPS technique enabled detection of subtle changes in non-historical protective coatings on the surfaces of tested degraded historical materials.

Chemical and physico-mechanical characterizations of leather for restoration

Leather is a complex material mostly consisting of a matrix of collagen, chemically stabilized by various tannins. This matrix, sooner or later undergoes alterations as a consequence of interactions between their structure and environment. A comprehensive study based on multiple chemical and physico-mechanical standard tests regarding leather samples which were artificially aged from 7 to 112 days has been made at 70°C. The behavior in artificial aging of calf leather samples tanned at pilot level with two different vegetal tannins, mimosa and quebracho, were investigated due to its’s similarity to the natural degradation of historical leather samples. Physico-mechanical characteristics of historical leather can be corelated with the high impact of degree of deterioration even though there are no standard regulations. To be able to choose the proper way to achieve compatibility with an appropriate material in the restoration-conservation process, multiple sample characteristic must be known. The condition of historical leather can be assessed by a series of simple visual and physical examinations which determine the flexibility, strength and coherency of the fibers and then correlate these assessments with the condition of leather as determined by various chemical and physical-chemical analyses. Therefore, the following chemical standard tests were made: volatile substances, shrinkage temperature, extractable substances, total soluble substances and the following physico-mechanical tests: tensile strength, elongation at breaking and tear resistance.