Context

Every year, the University of Coimbra (UNESCO World Heritage Site), welcomes more than half a million of tourists eager to admire its ancient monuments and learn its long and deep history. Nonetheless, multiple stone monuments at this site are currently suffering from notorious biodeterioration phenomena. They pose pressures for the maintenance of the UNESCO distinction, while also implying a serious economical effort aiming towards monument preservation. In addition, the often-uncharacterized microorganisms’ biodeteriorative action and the recognized resistance of some microbes to the application of antimicrobial compounds, make these tasks very challenging. 

Aim

This project aims to implement a quick and low-cost molecular and analytical laboratory in the field, aiming to simultaneously identify biofilm microorganisms’ diversity, metabolism and resistance features in biodeteriorated stone monuments from this UNESCO area. In parallel, a comparative study of areas that have undergone previous interventions and those left non-intervened, will also be conducted.