ATP bioluminescence method: tool for rapid screening of organic and microbial contaminants on deteriorated mural paintings

Abstract

The extent of the microbial contamination of the seventeenth-century wall paintings in the nave of the old Church of the Holy Ascension (Veliki Krčimir, Serbia) was evaluated via newly implemented ATP bioluminescence method, and traditional cultivation-based method, utilising commercially available dip slides. To assess the validity of ATP, as a biomarker for rapid detection of mural surface contamination, obtained zones of cleanliness values, in range from 1.0 to 5.3, were compared to documented total microbial counts, ranging between seven and 247 CFU/cm². Small coefficients of determination, 0.0106–0.0385, suggest poor correlation between microbial counts and surface ATP levels; however, zones of cleanliness values are of great help in determining the high points of contamination, aka ‘hotspots’, which should be given special attention during sampling and investigation using other methods. In addition, various aspects of the possible implementation of the ATP bioluminescence method in an integrated system of wall painting conservation are discussed.

Keywords:

• ATP bioluminescence
• dip slides
• microbial contamination
• wall paintings
• zones of cleanliness

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mila Čardaklija from the Golden Lab & Engineering for providing us with Lightning MVP system, and Vojislav Simić for the graphical abstract design.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia under [grant number 173032].