The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Individual and gender fingerprints in human body odour
Open accessAbstract
Individuals are thought to have their own distinctive scent, analogous to a signature or fingerprint. To test this idea, we collected axillary sweat, urine and saliva from 197 adults from a village in the Austrian Alps, taking five sweat samples per subject over 10 weeks using a novel skin sampling device. We analysed samples using stir bar sorptive extraction in connection with thermal desorption gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and then we statistically analysed the chromatographic profiles using pattern recognition techniques. We found more volatile compounds in axillary sweat than in urine or saliva, and among these we found 373 peaks that were consistent over time (detected in four out of five samples per individual). Among these candidate compounds, we found individually distinct and reproducible GC–MS fingerprints, a reproducible difference between the sexes, and we identified the chemical structures of 44 individual and 12 gender-specific volatile compounds. These individual compounds provide candidates for major histocompatibility complex and other genetically determined odours. This is the first study on human axillary odour to sample a large number of subjects, and our findings are relevant to understanding the chemical nature of human odour, and efforts to design electronic sensors (e-nose) for biometric fingerprinting and disease diagnoses.
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Cites
Chemometrics: Data Analysis for the Laboratory and Chemical Plant
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Self-citationMHC-dependent mate preferences in humans
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Self-citationVariation in volatile organic compounds in the breath of normal humans
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Self-citationElectronic noses and disease diagnostics
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Comparison and combination of ear and face images in appearance-based biometrics
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Cited by
A review of the volatiles from the healthy human body
de Lacy Costello, B., Amann, A., Al-Kateb, H., Flynn, C., Filipiak, W., Khalid, T., Osborne, D., & Ratcliffe, N. M. (2014) · Journal of Breath Research · doi:10.1088/1752-7155/8/1/014001 · Cited by 1,042
Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET
Syed, Z., & Leal, W. S. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0805312105 · Cited by 334
Human skin volatiles: A review
Dormont, L., Bessière, J.-M., & Cohuet, A. (2013) · Journal of Chemical Ecology · doi:10.1007/s10886-013-0286-z · Cited by 229
Frontiers in sebaceous gland biology and pathology
Zouboulis, C. C., Baron, J. M., Böhm, M., Kippenberger, S., Kurzen, H., Reichrath, J., & Thielitz, A. (2008) · Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0625.2008.00725.x · Cited by 205
de Groot, J. H. B., Smeets, M. A. M., Rowson, M. J., Bulsing, P. J., Blonk, C. G., Wilkinson, J. E., & Semin, G. R. (2015) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797614566318 · Cited by 143
Metadata
- Authors
- Penn, D. J., Oberzaucher, E., Grammer, K., Fischer, G., Soini, H. A., Wiesler, D., Novotny, M. V., Dixon, S. J., Xu, Y., & Brereton, R. G.
- Venue
- Journal of The Royal Society Interface
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2006-11-28
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 331-340
- ISSN
- 1742-5662 (ISSN-L)
- 1742-5689
- OpenAlex
- W2115331954
- Cited by
- 396
- References
- 53
- FWCI
- 9.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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- Penn, D. J., Oberzaucher, E., Grammer, K., Fischer, G., Soini, H. A., Wiesler, D., Novotny, M. V., Dixon, S. J., Xu, Y., & Brereton, R. G. (2007). Individual and gender fingerprints in human body odour. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2006.0182
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