TY - JOUR A1 - Masic, A. A1 - Chierotti, M.R. A1 - Gobetto, R. A1 - Martra, G. A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Coluccia, S. T1 - Solid state and unilateral NMR study of deterioration of a Dead Sea scroll fragment T2 - Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry N2 - Unilateral and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses were performed on a parchment fragment of the Dead Sea Scroll (DSS). The analyzed sample belongs to the collection of non-inscribed and nontreated fragments of known archaeological provenance from the John Rylands University Library in Manchester. Therefore, it can be considered as original DSS material free from any contamination related to the post-discovery period. Considering the paramount significance of the DSS, noninvasive approaches and portable in situ nondestructive methods are of fundamental importance for the determination of composition, structure, and chemical–physical properties of the materials under study. NMR studies reveal low amounts of water content associated with very short proton relaxation times, T1, indicating a high level of deterioration of collagen molecules within scroll fragments. In addition, 13C cross-polarization magicangle- spinning (CPMAS) NMR spectroscopy shows characteristic peaks of lipids whose presence we attribute to the production technology that did not involve liming. Extraction with chloroform led to the reduction of both lipid and protein signals in the 13C CPMAS spectrum indicating probable involvement of lipids in parchment degradation processes. NMR absorption and relaxation measurements provide nondestructive, discriminative, and sensitive tools for studying the deterioration effects on the organization and properties of water and collagen within ancient manuscripts. PB - Springer CY - Berlin KW - Dead Sea scrolls KW - Collagen deterioration KW - Solid-state NMR KW - Unilateral NMR PY - 2012 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/25507 AN - OPUS4-25507 SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 VL - 402 IS - 4 SP - 1551 EP - 1557 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany