Direct chemical characterization of natural wood resins by temperature-resolved and space-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment

Ancient adhesives used in multicomponent tools may be among our best material evidences of cultural evolution and cognitive processes in early humans. African Homo sapiens is known to have made compound adhesives from naturally sticky substances and ochre, a technical behavior proposed to mark the advent of elaborate cognitive processes in our species. Foragers of the European Middle Paleolithic also used glues, but evidence of ochre-based compound adhesives is unknown. Here, we present evidence of this kind. Bitumen was mixed with high loads of goethite ochre to make compound adhesives at the type-site of the Mousterian, Le Moustier (France). Ochre loads were so high that they lowered the adhesive's performance in classical hafting situations where stone implements are glued to handles. However, when used as handheld grips on cutting or scraping tools, a behavior known from Neanderthals, high-ochre adhesives present a real benefit, improving their solidity and rigidity. Our findings help understand the implications of Pleistocene adhesive making.

Probing some organic ukiyo-e Japanese pigments and mixtures using non-invasive and mobile infrared spectroscopies

Non-invasive identification of organic colourants in paintings still remains a challenging issue, especially in the case of extremely thin layers of paint on printed paper such as Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Because prints are fragile artworks, various non-invasive analytical methods need to be employed. The present work focuses on results obtained by combining fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy in the near-infrared range (FORS NIR) with mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. The first step consists of identifying spectroscopic marker bands typical of some organic pigments (indigo, gamboge, cochineal, turmeric, safflower, dragon's blood). Some reference printouts involving paper substrate, binder and pigments (seldom used or as mixtures) were then investigated in order to establish a straightforward way to extract the marker bands of the pigments. Some data post-treatments were applied to the spectra, such as spectral subtraction, in order to abstract the signal from overlapping bands originating from both substrate and binder, and second derivative calculation to emphasise the pigment marker bands' frequency positions. These data treatments turned out to be relevant to extract information on the organic pigments of interest, even within complex mixtures.

Spectroscopic analysis of hot-water- and dilute-acid-extracted hardwood and softwood chips

Hot-water and dilute sulfuric acid pretreatments were performed prior to chemical pulping for silver/white birch (Betula pendula/B. pubescens) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) chips to determine if varying pretreatment conditions on the original wood material were detectable via attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy. Pretreatment conditions varied with respect to temperature (130°C and 150°C) and treatment time (from 30min to 120min). The effects of the pretreatments on the composition of wood chips were determined by ATR infrared spectroscopy. The spectral data were compared to those determined by common wood chemistry analyses to evaluate the suitability of ATR spectroscopy method for rapid detection of changes in the wood chemical composition caused by different pretreatment conditions. In addition to determining wood species-dependent differences in the wood chemical composition, analytical results indicated that most essential lignin- and carbohydrates-related phenomena taking place during hot-water and acidic pretreatments could be described by applying this simple spectral method requiring only a small sample amount and sample preparation. Such information included, for example, the cleavage of essential lignin bonds (i.e., mainly β-O-4 linkages in guaiacyl and syringyl lignin) and formation of newly condensed lignin structures under different pretreatment conditions. Carbohydrate analyses indicated significant removal of hemicelluloses (especially hardwood xylan) and hemicelluloses-derived acetyl groups during the pretreatments, but they also confirmed the highly resistant nature of cellulose towards mild pretreatments.

Bioactive Potential of 3D-Printed Oleo-Gum-Resin Disks: B. papyrifera, C. myrrha, and S. benzoin Loading Nanooxides-TiO2, P25, Cu2O, and MoO3

This experimental study investigates the bioactive potential of filaments produced via hot melt extrusion (HME) and intended for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing purposes. The oleo-gum-resins from benzoin, myrrha, and olibanum in pure state and also charged with 10% of metal oxide nanoparticles, TiO₂, P25, Cu₂O, and MoO₃, were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDXMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Disks were 3D-printed into model geometries (10 × 5 mm) and the disk-diffusion methodology was used for the evaluation of antimicrobial and antifungal activity of materials in study against the clinical isolates: Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. Due to their intrinsic properties, disks containing resins in pure state mostly prevent surface-associated growth; meanwhile, disks loaded with 10% oxides prevent planktonic growth of microorganisms in the susceptibility assay. The microscopy analysis showed that part of nanoparticles was encapsulated by the biopolymeric matrix of resins, in most cases remaining disorderly dispersed over the surface of resins. Thermal analysis shows that plant resins have peculiar characteristics, with a thermal behavior similar to commercial available semicrystalline polymers, although their structure consists of a mix of organic compounds.

Optical Determination of Lead Chrome Green in Green Tea by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Transmission Spectroscopy

The potential of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) transmission spectroscopy for determination of lead chrome green in green tea was investigated based on chemometric methods. Firstly, the qualitative analysis of lead chrome green in tea was performed based on partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and the correct rate of classification was 100%. And then, a hybrid method of interval partial least squares (iPLS) regression and successive projections algorithm (SPA) was proposed to select characteristic wavenumbers for the quantitative analysis of lead chrome green in green tea, and 19 wavenumbers were obtained finally. Among these wavenumbers, 1384 (C = C), 1456, 1438, 1419(C = N), and 1506 (CNH) cm-1 were the characteristic wavenumbers of lead chrome green. Then, these 19 wavenumbers were used to build determination models. The best model was achieved by least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM)algorithm with high coefficient of determination and low root-mean square error of prediction set (R2p = 0.864 and RMSEP = 0.291). All these results indicated the feasibility of IR spectra for detecting lead chrome green in green tea.