Givaudan states that for 30 years, researchers struggled to study many of the receptors in a laboratory due to their low sensitivity, leaving silent receptors without known matches.
Human smell senses rely on 400 olfactory receptors, each working like a lock waiting for its scent molecule key. The company’s latest innovation has successfully activated previously unresponsive receptors, unlocked 20 specific human odor receptors, and detected natural scent molecules. It says that it is now possible to pinpoint specific odor molecules to particular receptors.