Department of Sciences of Antiquity, "La Sapienza" University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00185, Italy; Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 25, Milan 20133, Italy; Department of Chemistry, Material and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, Milan 20133, Italy.
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 25, Milan 20133, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Dec 1;954:176450. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176450. Epub 2024 Sep 25.
Biofilm deterioration and biofilm protection should be considered as different aspects of the complex interactions between microbes and the surfaces of outdoor heritage (e.g. stones, bricks, mortar and plaster). Thus, it is urgent to verify and quantify to what extent the biofilm can protect from different weathering processes, to eventually determine the advisability of biofilm removal from the heritage surfaces. On one hand, it is necessary to more precisely describe the decaying processes caused by the microorganisms and to quantify the extent, severity, and rate at which the microorganisms are causing the decay. On the other hand, it is necessary to define methodologies to comprehensively study the bioprotection phenomena. So far, no decision-making tool is available to guide heritage professionals in deciding whether to remove or keep biofilms on heritage surfaces, and aesthetical alteration and discoloration is often the only criterion considered. In this work the different available approaches for the study of the dual role of biofilms on outdoor heritage have been critically reviewed. The open challenges and questions are also summarised.
生物膜的劣化和生物膜的保护应被视为微生物与户外遗产（如石头、砖、灰泥和石膏等表面）之间复杂相互作用的不同方面。因此，迫切需要验证和量化生物膜在多大程度上可以保护免受不同的风化过程的影响，最终确定从遗产表面去除生物膜的可取性。一方面，有必要更精确地描述微生物引起的腐烂过程，并量化微生物引起腐烂的程度、严重程度和速度。另一方面，有必要定义综合研究生物保护现象的方法。到目前为止，还没有决策工具可以指导遗产专业人员决定是否要去除或保留遗产表面的生物膜，而美学改变和变色通常是唯一被考虑的标准。在这项工作中，批判性地回顾了研究生物膜在户外遗产上的双重作用的不同可用方法。还总结了开放的挑战和问题。
