5 CONCLUSIONS

The results of the research reported here illustrate that proteins present as binding media may be identified reliably by gas chromatographic analysis of ethyl chloroformate derivatives of amino acids. Alkyl and imino-substituted amino acids were much less affected by pigments and aging than the other amino acids; hence, in the ECF procedure, protein identification should be based on the relative amounts of these amino acids only. Amino acid molar percentages were used, in conjunction with coefficients of correlation to published composition data, to identify the proteins present in paint microsamples. The procedure proved to be useful for identification of proteins in paint and ground microsamples from objects.