. in the last 100 years towards a highly synthetic area of industrial chemistry. 2 With interruptions of extraction natural products including weather, … 2 Introduction: One of the most interesting aspects of fragrance chemistry is its ability to incorporate several different areas of chemistry in its investigations. 1 Most perfumists can be considered artists in the preparation of fragrances, combining an almost fantastical creativity with the knowledge found in areas such as analytical, synthetic, …

4 Figure 1: Location of the Olfactory System in the Human Brain : Picture taken from reference 4. Figure 2: The Olfactory System: Picture taken from reference 4. The mechanism by which the odorant molecules activate the recognition to the brain is still currently under investigation. The suggested pathway will be discussed in the seminar to follow. Now that the olfactory system has been introduced, several types of fragrant molecules and their synthesis can be discussed. 4,5
5 Common Types of Fragrant Molecules: Since the structural discovery of fragrant compounds, several classes of molecules have emerged. Ironically, not all compounds making up perfumes are pleasant smelling. Often times the molecules have wood and musk-like odors, but when combined with other fragrant components a pleasant fragrant perfume is developed. The compounds are divided into roughly twenty categories of aromas.2 Listed in Table 1 are just are several classes of molecules used in perfume synthesis.1 The volatility of many of the components are used to create the fragrance by way of layers or notes.2 Most perfumes consist of three notes; the top, heart, and base. Top notes are essentially responsible for the initial smell of perfumes and are typically the most volatile compounds. The heart note contains the common components that have some volatility and are responsible for the main aroma of the fragrance, generally lasting several hours. Base notes contain the least volatile compounds and have aromas lasting most of the day.6 Table 1 Odorant Example 1 Example 2 Amber H O (-) -Ambrox O O Ka ran al Woody O Side Product of Iso E Super OH Timberol….

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