Analysis of lignin from archaeological waterlogged wood by direct exposure mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and PCA evaluation of mass spectral data

Abstract

The chemical characterisation of waterlogged archaeological wood is of fundamental importance to understand the degradation processes undergone by wooden objects and consequently to develop suitable consolidation and conservation procedures. Lignin extracted from archaeological waterlogged wood samples was characterized using direct exposure electron ionisation mass spectrometry (DE-MS). DE-MS achieves a mass spectral fingerprint of the sample in a few minutes, avoiding any chemical pre-treatment and requiring only few micrograms of material. Mass spectral data were put in relation to the chemical composition of lignin and evaluated by means of principal component analysis (PCA). The preliminary results, presented in this study, demonstrate the feasibility and the potential of DE-MS as a reproducible and rapid screening method for archaeological waterlogged wood samples.