HPLC-DAD Method for the Analysis of Synthetic Dyestuffs in Historical Textile Objects in Istanbul Naval Museum

In this study, dyestuff analyses of 39 different historical textile artifacts consisting of wool, silk and linen fibers in different colors obtained from the Istanbul Maritime Museum were carried out. These objects were first analyzed considering that they contained only natural dyestuffs in their structures. The results showed, however, that natural dyes were present only in one of the examined samples. Therefore, the analysis was extended for synthetic dyes. For this purpose, a gradient HPLC-DAD method was developed using two solvents, tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate/ammonium acetate and tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate/methanol. Fifty-seven textile samples containing 25 red, 29 green, 1 yellow and 2 blue colored fibers were removed from the investigated objects, treated by the HCl extraction method and analyzed by the developed method. Concerning natural dyestuffs, only carminic acid was detected in a jacket from the Abdulaziz period (Ottoman Empire 1861–1876). The results also revealed that two of the studied samples have UV spectra similar to those of the synthetic dyestuffs Brilliant Blue FCF and Acid Red 52 (Sulforhodamine B). In addition, the historical textile objects were dated according to the information obtained from these results.