Integrated biological and chemical characterisation of a pair of leonardesque canal lock gates

The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan is exposing two pairs of canal lock gates, used to control the water flow in Milan canal system, whose design appears in the Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus. The wood present in the gates has been deeply characterised by mean of a multidisciplinary investigation involving i) DNA barcoding of wood fragments; ii) microbial community characterisation, and iii) chemical analyses. DNA barcoding revealed that two fragments of the gates belonged to wood species widely used in the middle age: Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies. The chemical characterisations were based on the use of ionic liquid as dissolving medium in order to analyse the entire cell wall material by means of Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and 2D-NMR-HSQC techniques. This multidisciplinary analytical approach was able to highlight the complex nature of the degradation occurred during the gate operation (XVI-XVIII centuries): an intricate interplay between microbial populations (i.e. Shewanella), inorganic factors (i.e. iron from nails), physical factors and the lignocellulosic material.

Automated summary

The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan is exhibiting two pairs of canal lock gates used in the Milan canal system, with the wood characterized through DNA barcoding, microbial community characterisation, and chemical analyses. The study revealed the complex degradation of the gates during operation in the XVI-XVIII centuries, involving microbial populations, inorganic factors, physical factors, and lignocellulosic material.