Corium

Parchment was widely used as a writing medium across Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Horn of Africa from the 2nd century BC until the 17th CE. Parchment is composed mainly of the protein collagen as found in our skin and bones. Despite its longevity, parchment is susceptible to collagen-specific degradation mechanisms, which can occur at any or all levels of the structural hierarchy. The rejuvenation of parchment is essential to preserve it carries so much written knowledge from the past: the poetry of Chaucer, Dante, and Marie de France; the science of Avicenna and al-Khwarizmi; the theology of Aquinas and Maimonides and the Dead Sea Scrolls. How can parchment—and the centuries of knowledge written on its surface—be sustainably preserved and restored? Presently, conservators and museum curators have no accepted methods to repair parchment once it degrades. This world heritage will disappear unless we find a solution to rejuvenate it. Our solution involves re-engineering natural glycation crosslinks in collagen from parchment using methods translated from Tissue Engineering and extending their lifetime by reversing the test of time of these precious artifacts.