Deterioration of Masonry Cultural Relics by Microbes: Current Remediation Strategies and Prospects

We review the mechanism of microbial deterioration of masonry cultural relics and their protective strategies. Firstly, the biogeochemical and biogeophysical mechanisms of microbial deterioration of cultural relics are described, including microbial colonisation, biofilm formation, inorganic and organic acid secretion and salt crystallisation. Then, this work introduces a variety of microbial deterioration prevention strategies, including biological control, chemical protection, physical and mechanical removal technology and the application of advanced materials. Finally, we discuss the application potential of advanced materials, such as nano-antibacterial materials and functional polymer materials in the protection of cultural relics, which can not only effectively isolate the colonisation of external microbes but also enhance the contamination resistance of cultural relics surfaces. Future studies should further explore the specific mechanism of microbial deterioration on cultural relics of different materials and combine protection technology with environmental factors to achieve long-term effective protection of cultural relics.