Comparative Study of Odours Present in Twin Fragrances by GC-sniffing-ToFMS

Abstract

Fragrances have the power to generate an identity and evoke memories and sensations based on their characteristic raw materials. These raw materials correspond to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present at concentrations above their odour threshold value in gaseous phase. Knowledge about the fragrance formula allows create modifications of the fragrance or to launch an imitation. These products try to evoke the smell of the original fragrance whereas being commercialized at more affordable prices to the end consumer. Consequently, it is important to establish limits of sensory identity, or put in another way, to quantify the limits where the imitation fragrance does not jeopardize the identity of the original. Defining sensory delineations is a difficult task because of the subjective nature of sensorial experience. However, it is becoming increasingly possible to devise unambiguous methods due to recent technological advancements in the sensitivity of instruments. It can be done by means of instruments capable of acting as human noses, or rather, acting as a powerful combination of nose-instrument complexes. These complexes take advantage of the complementary capacities existing between the high sensitivity of the human olfactory system and robust instrumental analysis techniques. GC-Sniffing, a human-instrument complex, is the most powerful analytical technique for odour identification. It can obtain chemical and sensory information in a single chromatographic analysis, with an experimented analyst detecting odours at the same instant in which the chemicals responsible for those odours are being chemically detected by the instrument. This study analyses two similar samples by GC-Sniffing-ToFMS, one of them commercialized as an imitation of the other, with the purpose of finding those sensory and chemical differences that make each one of them unique. The results show different concentrations of odour compounds and sensory perception by GC- Sniffing-ToFMS in the original and its perfume-twin. Some odour compounds were identified as key markers to understand sensory differences between the twin fragrances under study.