Can useful biomarker information be obtained from museum fossil specimens treated with Paraloid® B-72 acrylic resin?

Abstract

Paraloid® resins, particularly Paraloid® B-72, are widely used in palaeontological preparation to stabilise fossils. However, their presence may interfere with organic geochemical analyses. To evaluate this, standard biomarker extraction protocols were applied to pure Paraloid® B-72, to a fossil bone previously treated with the resin, and to commercial grade acetone commonly used as its solvent. The resin was mobilised by dichloromethane-containing solvent mixtures during extraction and fractionation. Despite this, saturated and aromatic biomarkers were successfully isolated since the polyacrylate resin is insoluble in non-polar solvents. Paraloid® B-72 predominately eluted into the aromatic and polar fractions, but did not significantly impact saturated biomarker profiles. Insoluble residues isolated from these fractions analysed by flash pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed compounds mainly from the resin. Microwave assisted solvent extraction appears to effectively separate Paraloid® B-72 from fossils, as no resin-derived monomers were detected in the extracted fossil pyrolysate. This suggests that the insoluble organic fraction of resin-stabilised fossils can be reliably studied using biomarker techniques with minimal interference. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF–SIMS) analysis produced abundant organic fragments from Paraloid® B-72, but mapping specific oxygen-bearing peaks associated with the resin may allow researchers to distinguish regions containing indigenous organics from those contaminated by the consolidant. These findings indicate that, with appropriate analytical approaches, both soluble and insoluble organic fractions of Paraloid®-treated fossils can yield valid biomarker data, enabling chemical analysis of specimens previously deemed unsuitable due to conservation treatments.