Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have developed a perfume delivery system that releases more scent when it comes into contact with moisture.
The research team in the Queen's University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) Research Centre created the system by tagging a raw fragrance onto an ionic liquid (salt in liquid form) which has no smell. When the 'perfumed ionic liquid' comes into contact with water, its aroma is released, enabling more scent to be released onto a person's skin.
In addition, the researchers said, the system may prove useful in combating unpleasant perspiration odours, as the thiol compounds responsible for the malodour are attracted to the ionic liquid, attaching themselves to it and losing their potency.
In research published in Chemical Communications (Issue 21, 2015), the team described how it synthesised stable liquid and solid salts in the form of hemiacetals, appended with fragrant alcohols, as pro-fragrances and tested their reaction to water: “These pro-fragrant materials were synthesised with a labile reaction centre intentionally incorporated. The hemiacetal is attached to a non-volatile ionic matrix, to form a new class of pro-fragrances, where the release trigger is neutral water, and the fragrance molecule is released cleanly and near quantitatively.”
However, the researchers added that “the control of release is dependent on the amount of water available”. Project leader, Dr Nimal Gunaratne, from the QUILL Research Centre, said: “This is an exciting breakthrough that uses newly discovered ionic liquid systems to release material in a controlled manner. Not only does it have great commercial potential, and could be used in perfumes and cosmetic creams, but it could also be used in others area of science, such as the slow release of certain substances of interest.” The researchers are now working with a perfume development company on commercial concepts.
