New anti-counterfeiting technology certifies works of art
The result of the recently concluded PYPAINT project
A special set of inks containing nanomaterials has been developed at Politecnico di Milano to certify works of art. With PYPAINT, artists will be able to sign their works of art with a simple pen containing coloured inks, or to affix a label to the work with a set of inks containing nanomaterials that are invisible to the human eye but capable of creating a unique code that allows a work of art to be identified without the possibility of forgery.
This was achieved as part of the recently completed PYPAINT (Protect Your Peerless Artwork with Innovative Nanoengineered Technology) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) with a Proof of Concept grant, which helps researchers explore the commercial potential of their work, taking them from basic to applied research.
The idea was to develop a new anti-counterfeiting printable system based on carbon-based nanostructures with a specific optoelectronic response that, by interacting with light, would create a unique artwork identification code invisible to the human eye. This is an important achievement that will help to guarantee the extreme value of works of art in Europe and around the world.
Carlo Spartaco Casari, lecturer at the Department of Energy and coordinator of PYPAINT
The technology was developed at Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the Italian artist SKYGOLPE and was presented at the WUF (We Understand the Future) event in Basel during Art Basel, with a video shoot in which the researchers were interviewed by the director of ArtsLife.
The research activities of the team, coordinated by Professor Casari and composed of Anna Facibeni, Sonia Peggiani and Alessandro Vidale, took place at the NanoLab of the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, in the framework of the ERC Consolidator Grant EspLORE project and in collaboration with the start-up studio Day One Srl. These results will be exploited in the EIC KEEPER project by the start-up ENIGMA Srl, a recent spin-off of Politecnico di Milano.
