Scientists from the University of Silesia and the Wrocław University of Science and Technology have developed a new ionic liquids based antifungal preparation for the preservation of books, documents, and pieces of art made with the use of paper. Precious items are usually created with the use of delicate materials, which are vulnerable to destruction, e.g. by various microbes. Preservation of such antiques poses a great challenge for experts. Biocidal preparations available on the market, which are characterised by high biological activity, are often toxic for people and the environment. Moreover, although they are effective against fungi, they may as well irretrievably destroy the structure of precious material. Therefore, searching for new preservation agents for such antiques is of great importance. Especially searching for agents that are effective and at the same time safe for humans and the object undergoing preservation process.
Such an antifungal agent has been proposed by the scientists from the University of Silesia: Agnieszka Bangrowska, PhD from the Faculty of Humanities; Monika Geppert-Rybczyńska, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor, and Prof. Robert Musioł from the Faculty of Science and Technology in cooperation with Joanna Feder-Kubis, PhD, DSc, from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. The solution is protected by patents.
It is worth adding that it is yet another preparation for the protection of precious book collections and documents developed by the scientists from the University of Silesia. You can read about the effects of cooperation between Agnieszka Bangrowska, PhD, and Prof. Robert Musioł Fungicides for book collections; a patent saving world cultural heritage article published in the Patents of the University of Silesia series.
