Introduction

The invention consists of a new product, nano collagen, capable of consolidating leathers, skins and parchments, considered as damaged Cultural Heritages, which “dust”, losing their consistency, allowing to consolidate, reinforce and to regenerate the original consistency. The action of the nano collagen takes place in the heart of the material structure, having infinitely small dimensions and therefore able to spread in depth profiles. Moreover, given the chemical composition equal to that of the supports to be restored, nano collagen is not at all an invasive strategy, much less destructive, but respectful of the substrates, the latter being mainly composed of collagen.

Technical features

The invention consists of an electrochemical synthesis with an alumina membrane, which has the function of guiding the growth of collagen nanotubules, within its nanometric pores. This synthesis technique allows to produce on an industrial scale, nano collagen (of animal origin) with tubular morphology (with diameter of each single tubule equal to 20nm, and length of 2micron). The nanocollagen, final product, is an optically transparent hydro-alcoholic nano-dispersion. The nanodispersion is stable, in hydro-alcoholic solution, without any addition of stabilizers chemical agents. The final product and the electrochemical synthesis are based on the principle of Green Chemistry, that is of an Eco-sustainable Chemistry, with all the advantages listed below, including the reuse of synthetic chemical residues to start at least another 3 production cycles, continuously .

Possible Applications

• Consolidation of Indoor Cultural Heritage (museums, libraries, archives);
• Reinforcement of membranaceous supports (leather and parchment);
• Consolidation and reinforcement properties also towards modern automotive textiles.

Advantages

• Nanocollagen is not invasive;
• The impact on Cultural Heritage surfaces is minimized;
• Nanocollagen is an «eco-sustainable» nanomaterial;
• Nanocollagen is a Biocompatible material especially for «end-users»;
• The production of Nanocolagen is an industrial large scale mass production.