Colloidal characterization and leaching testing to support safety assessment of nano-enabled products for the restoration of works of art

Nano-enabled products have been largely used in restoration interventions because of their physico-chemical characteristics that favour their interaction with the material to be conserved. However, the human health and environmental impacts that may emerge from these new materials are still little known and an adequate assessment of potential risks is required. In this context, in the frame of the EU H2020 NANORESTART project, innovative nano-enabled formulations for the conservation of artworks, developed according to a Safe by Design (SbD) approach, have been delivered. The safety of the new formulations was investigated by the research group in which this work was carried out, applying both EU CLP self-classification approach and experimental eco-toxicological tests. In order to better understand the key interactions occurring between nanoparticles included in the formulations and the biological medium used for ecotoxicological testing, in this thesis the colloidal characterization of the new formulations was performed by means of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Centrifugal Separation Analysis (CSA) techniques. Moreover, to identify a suitable experimental procedure for the quantification of possible product’s releases into the environment from treated artworks, a literature review was carried out. The selected procedure, consisting in immersion tests, was applied to a case study simulating outdoor artworks treated with coatings and exposed to environmental conditions.