The Science Of Odor Control

The Science behind Odor Control.

Odor is a sensation, a cognitive response to a chemical stimulus of our olfactory sense.  The odor molecules arrive and land into specific receptor sites in our olfactory nerves and chemically react to produce a specific coded electrical signal that is transmitted to the brain. Our brain stores,  classifies  and  remembers thousands of different odors from different substances.

Since the beginning of times, men have been concerned with what we perceive as mal odors, bad odors foul or unpleasant and nasty odors.  Staring in Egyptian civilization, people used to cover themselves with fruit and flower extracts and waxes, and bathe in aromatic oils or solutions.

Bad odors are originated by many sources, but the fundamental bad odor molecules originate from bacteria, mold and mildew in humid environments, and from  aromatic molecules like mercaptans, terpenes, ammonia, sulfides, low amines, carboxylic acids and many other, present in rotten food, human and animal segregations, body fluids, spices, and also from burning tobacco, wood and other cellulosic material.

The true evolution of odor control started round 1880, when fragrant pastes and oils started to be used to disguise bad human body odors. These way, odors can be eliminated by using an overpowering fragrance to cover the bad odor; this method is still being used today, with the disadvantage that  the resulting odor is sometimes worst and wears out lo discover the bad odor behind.

The next generation of odor controlling solutions has been formulating with active molecules that chemically react with odor molecules to neutralize them. This requires a one to one match for the kill. Alternatively some molecules have been created with electrostatic forces, capable of neutralizing the odor molecules at one to one contact, and rendering them illegible by the olfactory sense.

At a next level we have some  odor controlling macro-molecules that in addition to be attracted electrically to bad odor molecules, are capable of trapping, encapsulating , bad odor molecules and pull them down to the surface before reaching our olfactory sense. Not all odor molecules can be disarmed with the same active ingredient.

Obviously  the bad odor, being originated by bacteria, mold and microorganism, can also be attacked by these mechanisms of odor control, however we need to assure that bacteria or mold are reduced to prevent the odor reappearing.

With more than 20 years of odor control research, science has  been able to combine most of the chemically active and thermodynamically enhanced odor counteractants and encapsulants, in a formula that also helps prevent the regrowth of microorganisms on surfaces. Additionally and, due to the volatility and vapor pressure of its nowadays components, they are  able to act in a multilevel mode, being able to attack bad odors with residual action, in the air, and on hard and soft surfaces.