Fluorescence of Organic Binders in Painting Cross-sections

This research is focused on the application of immuno-fluorescence microscopy (IFM) to localize and identify proteinaceous materials in painting cross-sections. To find the best analytical protocol and the best fluorochrome, a comparison between two different fluorescent markers for the secondary antibody has been performed. An already known fluorochrome has been compared with a marker not commonly used to characterize painting materials. Parallel to IFM, staining tests by means of fluorescent selective reagents, have been performed. The study was carried out on standard and historical samples. Drawbacks and limits of the methods are here presented and solutions to overcome the encountered problems are discussed.