1. Introduction
Cultural heritage has a major importance, as it represents human identity and evidence of existence and activities that people have left over time. Any heritage object, whether movable or immovable, represents a small part of human history, passed down from generation to generation. By using the term tangible cultural heritage, we refer to different types of artifacts (paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, etc.), monuments and historical buildings, as well as archaeological sites. The factors that lead to the degradation of cultural heritage are multiple, uncontrollable, caused by nature (rain, temperature, light, biodegradation) or by humans (pollution, urbanization, agglomerations, acts of terrorism, corruption or incompetence). For this reason, its conservation represents a major objective, and the development of different compounds with a consolidating or protective role that do not affect the different properties of objects (appearance, color, etc.) is of major importance [1]. Nanomaterials represent a new and innovative solution under development with the role of saving heritage without affecting it and extending its lifespan for many generations to come [2]. Hydroxyapatite is a product highly studied in recent years due to the many positive results obtained in various fields such as: implantology, orthopedic surgery, catalysis, biosensors, adsorption, protection of cultural heritage, etc. In this study we synthesized two types of substituted apatitic materials with heavy metals (Zn, Co), using two different methods (co-precipitation and ultrasonication), at different molar ratios, as well as their antimicrobial properties [3].
2. Materials and Methods
The synthesized materials were characterized by the following methods: X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), while their antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the method of minimum inhibitory concentrations and the method of minimum concentrations of biofilm eradication.
3. Conclusions
The obtained results allow the proposal of the synthesized materials as viable alternatives in the protection of cultural heritage artifacts.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, T.F. and R.C.F.; methodology, T.F. and I.F.; validation, R.C.F., I.F. and V.R.; formal analysis, T.F., L.-M.D. and R.C.F.; investigation, T.F., R.I.B. and A.M.B.; data curation, T.F., L.-M.D. and R.C.F.; writing—original draft preparation, T.F.; writing—review and editing, R.C.F. and I.F.; supervision, R.C.F.; project administration, R.C.F.; funding acquisition, R.C.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS/CCCDI-UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P2-2.1-PTE-2019-0579, contract 61PTE/2020, within PNCDI III. The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the Romanian Ministry of Research and Innovation MCI (Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization—MCID) through INCDCP ICECHIM Bucharest 2019–2022 Core Program PN. 19.23—Chem-Ergent, Project No. 19.23.03.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
All data are available upon reasonable request from the authors.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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