Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Scent Profiles from Human Skin

Emer Duffy,Aoife Morrin,Gwendoline Albero

doi:10.3390/cosmetics5040062

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emanating from human skin contribute to an individual’s body odour. Understanding the modulation of human odour by a fragrance is of significant importance to the cosmetic sector in the design, development and evaluation of new products. The present research describes an in vivo approach for passive headspace sampling of skin volatile emissions in human participants. A wearable headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method has been employed to investigate baseline endogenous skin volatiles and the subsequent modulation of skin volatile profiles after application of a fragrance to skin. Coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) this method enables characterisation of scent profiles and fragrance longevity in vivo. A total of 51 compounds were identified in participants’ skin, including 19 endogenous and 32 fragrance-derived compounds. The temporal variation in volatile profiles at different times after fragrance application was investigated. Fragrance diffusion from skin varied between participants resulting in diversified scent profiles over time. This non-invasive approach could be employed during cosmetic product development for in vivo evaluation of fragrance profiles and for assessment of the retention of fragrance components in skin to reduce reliance on expert panels during product development.

Highlights

Human skin is a constant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which generates a complex mixture of compounds often referred to as human odour [1]
There were 24 compounds identified in endogenous skin volatile profiles across all participants as shown in Table 1, where confirmation of compound identities was performed using retention index matching with a tolerance of ±10 RI units
The present research has shown that in vivo headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis is a valuable method to investigate the volatile composition of human odour

Summary

Introduction

Human skin is a constant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which generates a complex mixture of compounds often referred to as human odour [1]. VOCs emitted by human skin are gaining interest in the cosmetics sector, in areas such as the design and development of fragranced products to modulate body odour [2] and the investigation of skin barrier properties in vitro and in vivo [3]. Applications are emerging in disease diagnosis [4], ecology of blood-sucking insect vectors of human disease [5], forensics and criminal investigations [6], and safety and security [7]. Gland distribution and the Cosmetics 2018, 5, 62; doi:10.3390/cosmetics5040062 www.mdpi.com/journal/cosmetics

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