Biodeterioration of Paper: A SEM Study of Fungal Spoilage Reproduced Under Controlled Conditions

Biodeterioration phenomena represent a complex of physical and chemical alteration processes in various materials, such as those constituting the objects that represent our cultural heritage. The biodegradation of paper is conditioned by several variables such as the materials from which cellulose is obtained, the manufacturing processes employed, the occurrence of other affecting substances such as lignin or metallic compounds, and by the environmental conditions in which papers are conserved. In this study, biodeterioration of paper was artificially induced in order to evaluate the role of a range of chemical and physical variables on damage caused by cellulolytic fungi. A variable pressure SEM instrument was used to characterise paper samples with different fibre origins, and alterations obtained in vitro. Two fungal strains, Aspergillus terreus Thom and Chaetomium globosum Kunze, which are cellulolytic species frequently associated with paper spoilage, were used to produce stains with characteristics close to those observable on art objects made from paper. The stains obtained on the different samples of paper were compared at both low and high magnification, in order to visualize the macro- and microscopic characteristics of paper fibres, inorganic constituents, impurities, and the deteriorating agents related to the spoiled areas. During this survey it was observed that single paper characteristics can strongly influence the intensity and the results of the fungal action. For example, the activity of a fungal strain on paper grades containing fibres of the same origin, but with different sizing, led to the formation of profoundly different stains and alterations. Moreover fungal structures, analysed by low vacuum SEM, in areas on paper corresponding to the stains appeared in different physiological states suggesting an important effect of paper constituents on fungal growth and their sporulating ability.