Stones are ones of the most ancient natural materials exploited by humans, with different uses, from tools to buildings, that have endured over time in better conditions than other objects belonging to cultural heritage. Given the importance of those silent witnesses of our past, as well as our duty to preserve all parts of cultural heritage for future generations, much effort was put into the development of materials for their consolidation, protection, self-cleaning, or restoration. Protection of ancient stone monuments and objects has gained the interest of researchers in the last decades in the field of conservation of cultural heritage. In this respect, the present paper aims to be a critical discussion regarding potential polymeric materials, which can be used in restorative and conservative approaches for stone materials of cultural heritage importance, against physical degradation phenomena. Recent advances in this area are presented, as well as the current bottle-necks and future development perspectives.

Analysis of cultural heritage artifacts represents a very important first step in any restoration/conservation attempt. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy-Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) technique can be successfully applied for the study of a wide range of historical artifacts (several papers describing the application of FTIR for the analysis of historical metals, paper, ceramic, fabrics, etc.). The present paper aims to present the application of FTIR-ATR for the characterization of historical fibers. The analyzed artifact represents a traditional pillowcase originating from Moldavia historical region, from the end of the XIX th centurybeginning of the XX th century, belonging to a private collection. The technique offers some advantages because relatively small samples are directly analyzed after they are pressed against the surface of the diamond crystal without damaging the samples. Identification of fiber type enables sometimes to approximate the age of an artifact, the climate type or the trade routes and manufacturing process used. The artifact is formed of two major components: the support textile fiber and the colored fibers. The most encountered materials traditionally used for such objects are wool, flax and hemp. While wool is easily identified in the FTIR spectra due to its sharp and intense characteristic peaks, in the case of cellulosic fibers and especially for differentiation between flax and hemp fibers it was necessary to calculate the average values of the band intensity ratios I 1595 /I 1105 and I 1595 /I 2900 .

In recent decades, coating materials have gained researchers’ interest, finding applications in different areas such as antimicrobial coatings for biomedical applications, coatings for increasing the shelf-life of commercial products, or coatings for the conservation of cultural heritage artifacts. The use of new types of coating materials based on natural ingredients can lead to the removal of harmful chemicals and contribute to the development of materials having different and promising properties. New challenges can appear both in the production process, as well as in the case of final application, when coating materials must be applied on various supports. The present review paper aims to be a critical discussion regarding the possibility of using natural ingredients as functional coatings, and to prove that the same material can be used in different fields, from the biomedical to environmental, or from cultural heritage protection to the food and cosmetic industries. The paper is based on the newest published studies, and its main goal is to be an inspiration source for researchers, in order to create more functional and applicable composite coatings in specific fields.