Qualitative application based on IR spectroscopy for bone sample quality control in radiocarbon dating

Bone samples suffer from contamination and deterioration, depending on their conservation state and previous restoration and consolidation processes. The sample preparation laboratory of the CEDAD (Center for Dating and Diagnostics) of the University of Lecce is developing a quality control protocol for bone samples based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify the presence of collagen in bone samples and to assess its quality. FTIR measurements were carried out on collagen extracted from many ancient samples dated at CEDAD. Efforts to shift the FTIR quality control test from the filtration step to a check-in treatment are proceeding to optimize the time for preparation and to reduce the overall turnaround time. A standard fast demineralization treatment was set up and applied to a variety of ancient samples of different origin and age.