Abstract
ALTHOUGH many theories of odour specificity have been proposed, only two have been supported by quantitative measurements with statistical analysis. My Stereochemical theory correlates the odours of various compounds with the sizes and shapes of their molecular models1. Wright's vibrational theory relates the odours to certain absorption peaks in their far infrared spectra2. It would be interesting to compare the relative success of our two theories directly, but so far this has not been possible, because we had used different test compounds and different statistical criteria.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amoore, J. E., Palmieri, G., and Wanke, E., Nature, 216, 1084 (1967).
Wright, R. H., and Robson, A., Nature, 222, 290 (1969).
Klouwen, M. H., and Ruys, A. H., Parfum. Cosmét. Savons, 6, 6 (1963).
Amoore, J. E., and Venstrom, D., J. Food Sci., 31, 118 (1966).
Amoore, J. E., in Gustation and Olfaction (edit. by Ohloff, G., and Thomas, A. F.), 147 (Academic Press, London, 1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
AMOORE, J. Stereochemical and Vibrational Theories of Odour. Nature 233, 270–271 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233270a0
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233270a0
This article is cited by
-
Current Theories in Odorant Binding
Current Otorhinolaryngology Reports (2022)
-
Data based predictive models for odor perception
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
Mosaic representations of odors in the input and output layers of the mouse olfactory bulb
Nature Neuroscience (2019)
-
The response of the honeybee antennal CO2-receptors to N2O and Xe
Journal of Comparative Physiology (1973)
-
Stereochemical and Vibrational Theories of Odour
Nature (1972)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
