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Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux pour Casanova: Chemical‐ and bio‐analysis of his Memoirs
Author(s) -
Zilberstein Gleb,
Zilberstein Roman,
Zilberstein Svetlana,
Fau Guillaume,
D'Amato Alfonsina,
Righetti Pier Giorgio
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.201800505
Subject(s) - memoir , bacteria , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , art , biology , art history , genetics
The original manuscript of Casanova's Memoirs is stored at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. We have gained access to it and explored the surfaces of chapters one and two (via the ethylene vinyl acetate [EVA] film technology, i.e., of diskettes of ethylene vinyl acetate with embedded strong cation and anion exchangers and C8 resins) in search of potential diseases of the author, especially of the gonorrhea bacterium, since Casanova reported that he had several bouts of this pathology along his adventurous life. Although the bacterium was not found, we have detected high levels of HgS as red spots along the lines of the manuscript, suggesting that Casanova was using this chemical as a cure for his venereal disease. Additionally, among the several bacteria identified on the surface via mass spectrometry, we could detect traces of Streptococcus uberis , a typical animal infection, found also in humans, together with a few strains of Lactobacilli, probably present in his saliva. The EVA film technology appears to open new horizons for investigating the world Cultural Heritage.