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Fragrance Chemistry
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:35:34
Abstract
The lecture provides a journey into the molecular world of scents from the chemical secrets behind Chanel N°5 to structure-odor relationships, industrial processes, and total synthesis of terpenoids. Each subunit is centered on one odorant family and highlights a certain class of chemical reactions, illustrated by prominent perfumery examples.
Objective
After completion of this lecture module the students know all the major perfumery materials of the important odor families with their academic and industrial syntheses, their olfactory properties, their usage, their historic perspective, and today's economic importance. The students can explain the significance of important building blocks and industrial transformations, and can estimate how attractive chemical processes are on large scale. They can retrosynthetically plan academic and industrial syntheses of fragrant compounds and terpenoids, and the acquired knowledge on structure-odor relationships enables them to predict and design new odorants. The students can approximate the conformational space of odorants and especially macrocycles on the basis of simple rules, and know how olfactophore models are used. The students understand and can explain the molecular mechanism of smell, the biosynthesis of terpenes, and the basics of perfumery composition. The latter enables them to further their education in perfumery at specialized Universities such as the ISIPCA in Versailles; yet, the student also knows about the links of Fragrance Chemistry with Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Specialty Chemicals business in general.
Resources
Literature
Günther Ohloff, Wilhelm Pickenhagen, Philip Kraft, 'Scent and Chemistry - The Molecular World of Odors', Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, Zurich, and Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2012, 418 pages, ISBN 978-3-90639-066-6.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC , DR , MSC
- Frequency
- Every two years
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- written 60 minutes
- Aids
- Pocket calculator, Periodic table of the elements, Molecule construction kit.
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Fragrance Chemistry |
|
1 h weekly |
Offered In
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Electives (A list with possible electives will be published separately.)
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Doctoral Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (Further information at: )
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