“1H NMR study and multivariate data analysis of reindeer skin tanning methods” by Zhu et al (2017)

Zhu, L.; Ilott, A. J.; Del Federico, E.; Kehlet, C.; Klokkernes, T.; Jerschow, A.; “1H NMR study and multivariate data analysis of reindeer skin tanning methods”, Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 55(4) (2017) pp.312–317.
Doi:10.1002/mrc.4529 (Wiley Online Library, restricted access) 

Abstract:

Reindeer skin clothing has been an essential component in the lives of indigenous people of the arctic and sub-arctic regions, keeping them warm during harsh winters. However, the skin processing technology, which often conveys the history and tradition of the indigenous group, has not been well documented. In this study, NMR spectra and relaxation behaviors of reindeer skin samples treated with a variety of vegetable tannin extracts, oils and fatty substances are studied and compared. With the assistance of principal component analysis (PCA), one can recognize patterns and identify groupings of differently treated samples. These methods could be important aids in efforts to conserve museum leather artifacts with unknown treatment methods and in the analysis of reindeer skin tanning processes.

“Species identification of ancient leather objects by the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay” by Liu et al (2016)

Liu, Y.; Li, Y.; Chang, R.; Zheng, H.; Zhou, Y.; Li, M.; Zhiwen, H.; Wang, B.; “Species identification of ancient leather objects by the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay”, Analytical Methods 8(42) (2016) pp.7689–7695. 

Doi:10.1039/C6AY01816E (Royal Society of Chemistry, restricted access)

Abstract:

Leather is one of the indispensable necessities in human daily life. However, the identification of ancient leather, especially species identification, is a great challenge for archaeologists and conservation scientists. Fortunately, the non-competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) offers a particularly promising approach for the analysis of ancient leather because of its advantageous properties such as high efficiency, low-cost, and high sensitivity and specificity. This study focuses on the use of a non-competitive indirect ELISA method to identify the species of ancient leather. Three ancient leather samples, which were unearthed from the desert in the Xinjiang area, were characterized using an analytical Oxford ISIS energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and ELISA. Two independent indirect ELISAs were established, and the results from the two methods were used in the determination of animal species. It was shown that all the three ancient leather samples were recognized by both anti-collagen-I antibody (ab23446) and anti-collagen-I antibody (ab117119), which indicates that the species of these leathers belong to cow. This is the first study to use an immunological method for the characterization of ancient leather. It is concluded that the ELISA method has the potential to become a powerful analytical tool in the identification of ancient proteinous materials.