First results on headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of volatile organic compounds emitted by wax objects in museums

Sampling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by a large variety of materials is nowadays a very useful technique for analytical purpose. In the field of cultural heritage, it can be applied to identify some constituents of museum artefacts off-gassing VOCs without sampling on the object itself. In this study, we focused on objects made of wax. First volatiles emitted by a reference beeswax were trapped and identified by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This allowed to identify numerous volatile biomarkers, namely saturated n-alkanes from C10 to C21, saturated n-carboxylic acids containing 6–12 carbon atoms, benzene and cinnamic derivatives that may be considered as volatile biomarkers of beeswax. The SPME strategy was then performed at the Orsay museum (Paris) in a showcase containing a wax sculpture “Le Mineur de la Loire” by J.-J. Carriès. The use of beeswax in this sculpture was unequivocally confirmed by the VOCs concentrated in the showcase, together with a set of characteristic molecular compounds identified by HT-GC/MS. HS-SPME-GC/MS thus appears to be a powerful in situ and non-invasive analytical technique that allows to identify natural substances in the field of cultural heritage without any sampling of solid matter from the object. The results obtained are promising for orientating the strategy of preventive conservation related to works of art characterised by important emission of VOCs.