Francesco Bartolinia, Ilenia Bracagliab, Martina Croceb, Gianmarco Pezzutia, Alessandro Ciccolac, Ilaria Serafinic, Angela Polad, Camilla Montesanoa, Gabriele Faveroc, Manuel Sergia

aDepartment of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
bDepartment of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
cDepartment of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
dDepartment of Humanities, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

Chemical analysis of organic residues in archaeological pottery can provide useful information to validate the hypotheses made by archaeologists about key aspects of ancient daily life. Various non-invasive analytical techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), can be used for investigations. However, chromatography coupled with different detectors is often preferred for separating and identifying the different components of complex matrices, such as archaeological pottery. This research aims to develop a new efficient, reproducible and rapid method for the identification of organic acids as wine markers in archaeological figured vessels through HPLC-MS/MS. Considering the artistic and historical importance of the vessels, in this work the sample amount was minimized: only 35 mg of archaeological sample were withdrawn. The procedure involves a derivatization step followed by an extraction developed in accordance with green analytical chemistry principles, involving ultrasound-assisted liquid extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (dLLME) [1]. This technique enabled the removal of compounds that contribute to signal suppression, thereby reducing the matrix effect, achieving optimal extraction levels. The dLLME process required careful consideration of various parameters, including the type of dispersing phases, volumes, pH, and ionic strength. This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of figured pottery discovered in the Faliscan region.

Keywords: HPLC-MS/MS, microextraction, archaeological pottery

References

1. Rezaee M., Assadi Y., et al., Journal of Chromatography A, 116 (2006), pag 1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2006.03.007