We can test nonwovens, for odour reduction efficacy, low odour properties of adhesives, identification of off-notes etc. Testing the functionality of your product initiated by UV radiation (for curtain textiles), body temperature (for sweat odour reduction), mechanical impact (e.g. microcapsules, which are activated by friction and/or pressure).
The challenge
- One of our clients needed the odour testing of the foam material he uses in its products. We had to determine the aromatic profile of the samples (control vs off note) and to identify the chemical compounds associated with certain olfactory descriptors by GC-O, in order to determine if these chemical compounds can be responsible for the bad smell of the final product.
Our strategy
- We extracted the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the material using the dynamic headspace method. Microchambers were used to heat and drag the VOCs through an inert gas into a sorbent tube.
- These VOCs are then desorbed by thermal desorption and analysed by GC-ToFMS. For the detection of bad smells it is necessary to use the GC-O technique, where trained analysts smell the compounds that are separated one by one in the GC-ToFMS.
Microchambers used for the extraction
Results
GC-O analysis made it possible to identify the compounds responsible for the odour. This allows the client to remove the raw material causing the odour and replace it with another material.
