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Color measurements as a reliable method for estimating chlorophyll degradation to phaeopigments

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Abstract

The application of biocides is a traditional method of controlling biodecay of outdoor cultural heritage. Chlorophyll degradation to phaeopigments is used to test the biocidal efficacy of the antimicrobial agents. In the present study, the usefulness of color measurements in estimating chlorophyll degradation was investigated. An aeroterrestrial stone biofilm-forming cyanobacterium of the genus Nostoc was chosen as test organism, comparing its different behaviour in both planktonic and biofilm mode of growth against the isothiazoline biocide Biotin T®. Changes in A435 nm/A415 nm and A665 nm/A665a nm and in the chlorophyll a and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) cell content were compared with the variations in the CIELAB color parameters (L*, a*, b*, C*ab and hab). Our findings showed that both the phaeophytination indexes are useful in describing degradation of chlorophyl a to phaeopigments. Moreover, the CIELAB color parameters represented an effective tool in describing chlorophyll degradation. L* CIELAB parameter appeared to be the most informative parameter in describing the biocidal activity of Biotin T® against Nostoc sp. in both planktonic and biofilm mode of growth.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was financed by Xunta de Galicia (REF: 09TMT014203PR) and Science and Education Ministry of Spain (MEC) (BES-2007-16996). The authors would like to thank Dr Pamela Principi for critically reading this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola. Fac. Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    P. Sanmartín, B. Silva & B. Prieto

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari e Microbiologiche, DISTAM, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133, Milano, Italy

    F. Villa & F. Cappitelli

Authors
  1. P. Sanmartín
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  2. F. Villa
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  3. B. Silva
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  4. F. Cappitelli
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  5. B. Prieto
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Correspondence to P. Sanmartín.

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Sanmartín, P., Villa, F., Silva, B. et al. Color measurements as a reliable method for estimating chlorophyll degradation to phaeopigments. Biodegradation 22, 763–771 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9402-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9402-8

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