Interactions of microorganisms and synthetic polymers in cultural heritage conservation

Since the 1960s, synthetic polymers (at the time assumed to be resistant to microbial colonization) have been employed to mitigate the ongoing deterioration of cultural heritage. Since then, the use of synthetic materials in heritage conservation attracted much interest. This paper reviews the last two decades of advances in the relationship microorganisms - synthetic polymers in the cultural heritage conservation field. Three topics are considered: (1) biodeterioration of traditional synthetic polymers, (2) biosusceptibility of novel composites based on synthetic polymers, and (3) biocleaning to remove undesired synthetic polymers. It is know that, if the undesired polymer chemical structures are not fully known, they are particularly difficult to remove. Therefore, the future employment of synthetic polymers definitely requires a more critical holistic conservation assessment.