| Abstract: | The first demonstration of olfactory perception, at hyperbaricatmosphere, for gases inodorous at normal atmosphere, was madeby Laffort (1966, 1968). Nevertheless, two difficulties arosewith this earlier experimentation. First, the pressure was limitedto 5 absolute atmospheres (ATA) on account of the safety ofthe subjects. Secondly, the temperature was not maintained constantand it is well known that the olfactory perception depends onthis parameter (Tucker, 1963; Grundvig et al., 1967; Laffort,1969). The present experiment was carried out in a range of2–23 ATA, at a constant temperature, using methane andkrypton. The dose–response curve was obtained as a wholewith methane and partially with krypton. This work shows theexistence of olfactory sensitivity for these seemingly ‘inodorous’gases. Moreover, planning a QSAR study (quantitative structure–activityrelationships), it is possible to know the olfactory thresholdsof small mol. wt compounds (the human olfactory thresholds ofn-paraffin were known in a range of C2–C10 until now)(Van Gemert and Nettenbreijer, 1977). |
