Binding of selected odorants to bovine and porcine odorant-binding proteins

Twenty floral smelling tetrahydropyranyl and tetrahydrofuranylethers, and 12 additional compounds with different odours wereused in ligand-binding experiments with purified 19 kDa bovineOBP and 22 kDa porcine OBP. Most of the odorants examined werefound to be good ligands for both proteins, with dissociationconstants in the micromolar range; the data confirm the broadbinding specificity of OBPs. Significant differences, however,measured with some odorants, indicate the possibility of usingOBPs, purified from several animal species, in biosensors forodour discrimination.