Egg yolk identification and aging in mixed paint binding media by NMR spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool for the identification and quantitative analysis of organic materials in a cultural heritage context. In this report, we present an analytical NMR protocol for the identification and semiquantification of egg yolk binders and mixed binding media that also contain a drying oil, namely linseed oil. The samples studied have been artificially and/or naturally aged in order to simulate the composition of organic materials in paintings. Analysis of the 1D and 2D NMR spectra showed that egg yolk can be identified even in binding media of considerable age via signals originating from cholesterol and/or cholesterol oxidation products present in the aged binding medium. Based on cholesterol-related and other lipid signals in the NMR spectra of egg yolk binders, a molecular marker (R/F) that suggests the presence of egg yolk in paint binders is proposed. Via this marker, the presence of egg yolk in the organic material obtained from an early 18th century Greek icon is confirmed, and this is further verified by 2D NMR spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that NMR molecular markers developed to estimate the hydrolysis/oxidation state of oil paintings are also suitable for the analysis of egg yolk and mixed medium (egg yolk-linseed oil) binders, indicating the generality of the NMR methodological approach in the analysis of organic materials in a cultural heritage context.