In this paper, a spectral collection of over 150 ATR-FT-IR spectra of materials related to cultural heritage and conservation science has been presented that have been measured in the extended region of 4000-80 cm(-1) (mid-IR and far-IR region). The applicability of the spectra and, in particular, the extended spectral range, for investigation of art-related materials is demonstrated on a case study. This collection of ATRFT-IR reference spectra is freely available online (http://tera.chem.ut.ee/IR_spectra/) and is meant to be a useful tool for researchers in the field of conservation and materials science.

Comprehensive analysis of high‐resolution mass spectra of aged natural dammar resin obtained with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT‐ICR‐MS) using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) is presented. Dammar resin is one of the most important components of painting varnishes. Dammar resin is a terpenoid resin (dominated by triterpenoids) with intrinsically very complex composition. This complexity further increases with aging. Ten different solvents and two‐component solvent mixtures were tested for sample preparation. The most suitable solvent mixtures for the MALDI‐FT‐ICR‐MS analysis were dichloromethane‐acetone and dichloromethane‐ethanol. The obtained MALDI‐FTMS mass spectrum contains nine clusters of peaks in the m/z range of 420–2200, and the obtained APCI‐FTMS mass spectrum contains three clusters of peaks in the m/z range of 380–910. The peaks in the clusters correspond to the oxygenated derivatives of terpenoids differing by the number of C15H24 units. The clusters, in turn, are composed of subclusters differing by the number of oxygen atoms in the molecules. Thorough analysis and identification of the components (or groups of components) by their accurate m/z ratios was carried out, and molecular formulas (elemental compositions) of all major peaks in the MALDI‐FTMS and APCI‐FTMS spectra were identified (and groups of possible isomeric compounds were proposed). In the MALDI‐FTMS and APCI‐FTMS mass spectrum, besides the oxidized C30, triterpenoids also peaks corresponding to C29 and C31 derivatives of triterpenoids (demethylated and methylated, correspondingly) were detected. MALDI and APCI are complementary ionization sources for the analysis of natural dammar resin. In the MALDI source, preferably polar (extensively oxidized) components of the resin are ionized (mostly as Na+ adducts), whereas in the APCI source, preferably nonpolar (hydrocarbon and slightly oxidized) compounds are ionized (by protonation). Either of the two ionization methods, when used alone, gives an incomplete picture of the dammar resin composition. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) is one of the most widely used and studied matrix compounds in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. However, the influence of ageing of the DHB solution on the MALDI mass spectra has not been yet systematically studied. In this work, the possible changes occurring in the acidified acetonitrile/water solution of the MALDI matrix compound DHB during 1-year usage period have been monitored with MALDI-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (MALDI-FT-ICR-MS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectroscopy. No significant ageing products have been detected. The ability of the aged DHB solution to act as a MALDI matrix was tested with two materials widely used in art and conservation - bone glue (a proteinaceous material) and shellac resin (a resinous material) - and good results were obtained. A number of peaks in the mass spectra measured from the DHB solution were identified, which can be used for internal calibration of the mass axis.

Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) analysis of 100 adhesive samples from different prehistoric composite artefacts, pottery, and amorphous lumps across Eastern Europe and Urals were conducted with the aim to establish a fast analytical screening method for adhesive assignment. The ATR-FT-IR analysis allowed the identification of major chemical components of the adhesive samples that were assigned to three main groups: birch bark tar without major additives, birch bark tar with additives, and minor/non-birch bark tar samples. ATR-FT-IR spectra were further analyzed using

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a mass spectrometry (MS) ionization technique suitable for a wide variety of sample types including highly complex ones such as natural resinous materials. Coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass analyser, which provides mass spectra with high resolution and accuracy, the method gives a wealth of information about the composition of the sample. One of the key aspects in MALDI-MS is the right choice of matrix compound. We have previously demonstrated that 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid is suitable for the positive ion mode analysis of resinous samples. However, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid was found to be unsuitable for the analysis of these samples in the negative ion mode. The second problem addressed was the limited choice of calibration standards offering a flexible selection of m/z values under m/z 1000. This study presents a modified MALDI-FT-ICR-MS method for the analysis of resinous materials, which incorporates a novel matrix compound, 2-aminoacridine for the negative ion mode analysis and extends the selection of internal standards with m/z <1000 for both positive (15 different phosphazenium cations) and negative (anions of four fluorine-rich sulpho-compounds) ion mode. The novel internal calibration compounds and matrix material were tested for the analysis of various natural resins and real-life varnish samples taken from cultural heritage objects. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.