Objective Display and Discrimination of Floral Odors from Amorphophallus titanum, Bloomed on Different Dates and at Different Locations, Using an Electronic Nose

Sensors

Kouki Fujioka⁷  Mika Shirasu²  Yoshinobu Manome⁷  Nobuo Ito⁵  Satoshi Kakishima¹  Tomohiro Minami⁵  Tadashi Tominaga⁵  Fumio Shimozono⁶  Takeo Iwamoto³  Keiichi Ikeda⁷  Kenji Yamamoto⁴  Jin Murata¹ 

[1] Botanical Gardens, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo 112-0001, Japan; E-Mails:;Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; E-Mail:;Core Research Facilities, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan; E-Mail:;National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan; E-Mail:;Flower Park Kagoshima, Kagoshima 891-0513, Japan; E-Mails:;Independent Researcher, Ibusuki, Kagoshima 891-0304, Japan; E-Mail:;Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of DNA Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan; E-Mails:

关键词: electronic nose;    FF-2A;    semiconductor;    Amorphophallus titanum;    titan arum;    smell;    objective display;    smell description;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s120202152

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

As olfactory perceptions vary from person to person, it is difficult to describe smells objectively. In contrast, electronic noses also detect smells with their sensors, but in addition describe those using electronic signals. Here we showed a virtual connection method between a human nose perceptions and electronic nose responses with the smell of standard gases. In this method, Amorphophallus titanum flowers, which emit a strong carrion smell, could objectively be described using an electronic nose, in a way resembling the skill of sommeliers. We could describe the flower smell to be close to that of a mixture of methyl mercaptan and propionic acid, by calculation of the dilution index from electronic resistances. In other words, the smell resembled that of “decayed cabbage, garlic and pungent sour” with possible descriptors. Additionally, we compared the smells of flowers which bloomed on different dates and at different locations and showed the similarity of odor intensities visually, in standard gas categories. We anticipate our assay to be a starting point for a perceptive connection between our noses and electronic noses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland