Identification of Key Odorants in Used Disposable Absorbent Incontinence Products

• PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to identify key odorants in used disposable absorbent incontinence products.DESIGN:Descriptive in vitro study SUBJECTS AND SETTING:: Samples of used incontinence products were collected from 8 residents with urinary incontinence living in geriatric nursing homes in the Gothenburg area of Sweden. Products were chosen from a larger set of products that had previously been characterized by descriptive odor analysis.METHODS:Pieces of the used incontinence products were cut from the wet area, placed in glass bottles, and kept frozen until dynamic headspace sampling of volatile compounds was completed. Gas chromatography-olfactometry was used to identify which compounds contributed most to the odors in the samples. Compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.RESULTS:Twenty-eight volatiles were found to be key odorants in the used incontinence products. Twenty-six were successfully identified. They belonged to the following classes of chemical compounds: aldehydes (6); amines (1); aromatics (3); isothiocyanates (1); heterocyclics (2); ketones (6); sulfur compounds (6); and terpenes (1).CONCLUSION:Nine of the 28 key odorants were considered to be of particular importance to the odor of the used incontinence products: 3-methylbutanal, trimethylamine, cresol, guaiacol, 4,5-dimethylthiazole-S-oxide, diacetyl, dimethyl trisulfide, 5-methylthio-4-penten-2-ol, and an unidentified compound.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. 

Nyckelord

Dynamic headspace sampling

GC–MS

GC–olfactometry

Incontinence pad

Incontinence product

Key odorant

Odor

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)