Identification of Key Odorants in Used Disposable Absorbent Incontinence Products

The purpose of this study was to identify key odorants in used disposable absorbent incontinence products.

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.

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.

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).

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. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

Journal of wound, ostomy, and continence nursing : official publication of The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. 2017 Mar 22 [Epub ahead of print]

Gunnar Hall, Susanne Alenljung, Ulla Forsgren-Brusk

Gunnar Hall, PhD, Sensory and Flavor Science, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Food and Bioscience, Gothenburg, Sweden. Susanne Alenljung, MSc, Hygiene and Odor, SCA Hygiene Products AB, Gothenburg, Sweden. Ulla Forsgren-Brusk, MSc, Hygiene and Odor, SCA Hygiene Products AB, Gothenburg, Sweden.