The featured molecules for the month of January are some of the natural and synthetic molecules used to create perfumes. The chemistry of perfumes is discussed in the article “Chemistry Perfumes Your Daily Life”. Jasmone is a natural component of jasmine and a key component for its odor; α-damascone is a natural component of rose oil; geraniol is a synthetic rose odor; civetone is a macrocyclic musk that used to be obtained from the civet cat; and musk baur is a synthetic molecule with a musky smell.
In addition to the static image, two fully manipulable versions (Jmol, MDLChime) of these molecules appear below. (The Jmol versions may take a few extra seconds to load, based on the speed of your Internet connection.)
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