The ATP-bioluminescence method for a rapid evaluation of the microbial activity in the stone materials of monuments

✍ Scribed by Tiano, Piero ;Tomaselli, Luisa ;Orlando, Claudio

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Weight: 315 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0884-3996
• DOI: 10.1002/bio.1170030409

✦ Synopsis

The examination of the state of conservation of works of art in stone includes the assessment of the presence of microbiological agents on the surface of the decayed monuments. These microorganisms can accelerate, via their metabolic activity, the decay process of the stone surface. A t present this assessment is made with the traditional techniques for the microbiological examination of the soil, provides results only after a delay of 30 days. A bioluminescent ATP assay should provide rapid quantitation of actively growing organisms on the surface of a stone monument, and the applicability of this technique was verified on some samples of sandstone (Pietraforte) collected from a historic building (the Strozzi Palace) in Florence. These samples were evaluated for the amount of the ATP and the total number of microorganisms.

The results obtained suggest that the bioluminescent assay could be suitable for detecting and quantitating the presence of microorganisms in a sample of stone.