Cultural heritage is the envelope of our lives and societies, acting as an invisible thread that links people, history and identity. Becoming more aware of its value, and in order to share and promote the understanding of our roots and appreciate our diversity, public administrations and private institutions have devoted increasing attention to the importance of preserving our shared cultural heritage. Unfortunately, due to their deteriorating condition, only a few prominent examples of tangible cultural heritage have lasted through to the present day. The main factors involved in the deterioration of heritage objects include environmental (exposure to light, humidity, acidic gases), microbial (bacterial or fungal) and human action (from intentional or accidental damage to intervention). Hence, the preservation of the past and future heritage is of key importance for European institutions and society as a whole, not only due to social and cultural importance, but also because of the economic implications arising from tourism, research and art. The HeriCare project comprises the development of effective nanomaterials as transparent, highly-active protective coatings for cultural heritage objects to prevent the bio- and environmental degradation of soft organic materials such as photographic films or paper. The main goal of this project was to develop transparent coatings based on nanomaterials which possess high antimicrobial activity. HeriCare project was developed by Dr. Andrés Seral-Ascaso, with the PI Prof. Jesús Martínez de la Fuente at Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), a joint research center of CSIC & University of Zaragoza.
