Smarter, greener ways to protect fragile cultural heritage Swati Mestri Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor Museums, libraries, archives and heritage organizations face a difficult problem: Many of the objects they preserve are made from materials that naturally deteriorate. Silk weakens and yellows. Leather and parchment lose collagen integrity.

Paper becomes brittle and acidic. Wood can decay through moisture, microorganisms and chemical reactions. A new international review brings together recent advances in identifying, monitoring and protecting these organic cultural materials.

It focuses on silk, leather, parchment, paper and wood, and examines how modern analytical tools and new conservation materials can support better decisions across the heritage sector. The review was prepared by researchers from Zhengzhou University and the Palace Museum in China, the INCDTP–Leather and Footwear Research Institute in Romania, and Newcastle University in Singapore. The findings are published in the journal npj Heritage Science.

Diagnosing damage before intervention The review shows that conservation is moving away from relying only on visible signs of deterioration. Modern tools can now identify changes in molecular structure, crystallinity, chemical composition, thermal stability and microbial activity. These include infrared and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, electron microscopy, mass spectrometry and DNA-based sequencing.

For heritage organizations, the main opportunity for industry lies in combining these methods into practical diagnostic systems. Portable spectrometers can support rapid on-site assessment. Imaging systems can reveal surface damage.

Omics tools can identify microorganisms responsible for biodeterioration. Data from several techniques can then be combined to distinguish surface damage from deeper structural change. The review argues that no single method is sufficient.

The most reliable assessment comes from combining complementary tools while keeping sampling to a minimum. This creates opportunities for: - portable and non-destructive analytical instruments; - integrated heritage-monitoring platforms; - environmental sensing and predictive maintenance; - data-analysis software for conservation decisions; and - specialist services that combine materials analysis with conservation planning. Why organic heritage deteriorates Despite their different structures, silk, collagen-based materials and cellulose-based materials share two major deterioration pathways: oxidation and hydrolysis.

Temperature, humidity, ultraviolet light, air pollutants and microorganisms can accelerate these reactions. Over time, they alter the molecular structure and weaken the material. The review highlights that damage often starts in the less ordered regions of silk and paper before spreading into more crystalline regions.

Leather and parchment are especially vulnerable because collagen can lose its triple-helical structure through heat, humidity, acidity and biological attack. For industry, this means that preservation cannot rely on a single environmental threshold or one universal treatment.