Francesca Bosco

Microbial contamination control in indoor environments, such as libraries and archives, represents a challenge. Essential oils (EOs), well-known for their antimicrobial properties, have been applied in pharmaceutical and food industry from many years. In the present study, Thymus vulgaris and Origanum vulgare EO antimicrobial efficacy on paper-born microorganisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Alternaria alternata, was investigated to protect water-damaged paper documents and to control indoor air quality for operator’s health safety. T.

When the historical archives are concerned, usually closed and controlled environment are
consid...ered, protected from the threats from ambient conditions, fires and different kind of pest. What
is becoming evident by the historical events is that archives are vulnerable to the acute events, as

Freezing of the paper material is a way to control the growth of microorganisms and the possibili...ty of “acute” biodeterioration and illness, after accidental events, e.g. flooding. But as the paper-born microorganisms can survive after lyophilisation, they must be controlled also