Descripción del proyecto
Conservación del patrimonio cultural mediante microgeles de goma gellan
El equipo del proyecto MICROTECH, financiado con fondos europeos, va más allá de los experimentos anteriores del proyecto Modeling Microgels para proponer una fórmula más rentable y lista para usar en la conservación de artesanías de papel. Gracias a sus propiedades naturales, se ha demostrado recientemente que los microgeles de goma gellan son más eficientes y de acción más rápida en comparación con los hidrogeles utilizados anteriormente en aplicaciones similares. El objetivo de los investigadores es optimizar la interacción de estas nanopartículas inteligentes con varias superficies además del papel, con el fin de contribuir en gran medida a la conservación del patrimonio cultural, entre otros usos. Se espera que el interés ya expresado de las empresas privadas impulse el éxito del proyecto al probar la tecnología de microgel en muestras reales y realizar todos los análisis necesarios para la comercialización de las patentes a fin de entregar un producto terminado.
Objetivo
This PoC proposal is dedicated to the development of a new soft matter technology for paper preservation. Building on the recent ERC grant of the PI, MIMIC, that was mainly a theoretical and numerical effort on “Modelling microgels” in close synergy with experiments, MICROTECH proposes to exploit this fascinating class of soft colloids in a new application for cultural heritage. Microgels are colloidal-scale polymer networks, whose properties intrinsically depend on those of the constituent polymers. While most studies deal with thermoresponsive ones, here we propose to use gellan gum, a widely used biopolymer, since gellan gum hydrogels have been previously used to treat paper artifacts. We recently showed the use of gellan gum microgels is more advantageous with respect to hydrogels both in terms of efficacy and of application time.
The proposed technology is ground-breaking because it will significantly reduce the economic costs of the treatment, it is environmentally friendly and also versatile. Indeed, we will functionalize the gellan macromolecule in order to optimize the specific interactions with the different nature of the surfaces to be treated. The main objectives of the interdisciplinary MICROTECH project will be to optimize the preparation, the functionalization and the long-time conservation of the microgels; to validate the technology on real samples, thanks to the collaborations with interested companies, who already expressed their Letters of Support; to perform a pre-commercialization study in terms of IPR and market analysis; to create of network of potential partners and users; finally, to deliver a ready-to-use microgel formulation and a business plan. Therefore, at the completion of the project, we expect that the technology will be available to potential end users.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-AG-LS - HORIZON Lump Sum GrantInstitución de acogida
00185 Roma
Italia