Common sampling methods for mass spectrometry such as sectioning are undesirably damaging to cultural heritage objects. A liquid microjunction sampling technique is developed that uses minimal solvent volume for analysis. Painted illustrations on a 17th century parchment manuscript from Spain were analyzed to identify the organic red pigment throughout its pages. By extracting with 0.1 μL solvent, the pigment was supplied for direct infusion electrospray MS, and the resulting disruption to the object surface was practically invisible to the naked eye.
Keywords: Cultural heritage; Droplet probe; Dyes and pigments; Electrospray ionization.