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Photochemistry of Fragrance Materials. II. Aromatic Compounds and Phototoxicity

1983; Informa; Volume: 2; Issue: 4-5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3109/15569528309036266

1532-2505

Taka Yuki Shibamoto,

Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

Fragrance materials are used widely in consumer products such as cosmetics, toiletries, detergents, soaps and household products. Approximately 150 natural and 4000 synthetic chemicals have been used to create appropriate fragrances for these products today. Because of the large number of chemicals used in fragrances, one might expect that various chemical changes can occur in products during production, storage, and after application or use by the consumer. Among these chemical changes, photochemical reactions of certain compounds are beginning to receive attention as those reactions which produce photosensitizing chemical products in fragrances. This is an especially serious problem for skin care products which undergo the most exposure to sunlight. This can promote photochemical reactions in product fragrances after they are applied to the human skin. Photochemical reactions which trigger new organic syntheses are some of the most important reactions in organic chemistry today. Reactions which do not occur in the ground state can be performed in the excited state with high yields under mild conditions of room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Some fragrance materials such as rose oxide have already been synthesized in an industrial scale using the photochemically initiated synthesis reaction approach. On the other hand, the use of certain fragrance materials in product fragrances, especially in cosmetic products, is becoming restricted due to the realization of the problems caused by the formation of photosensitizing compounds through photochemical reactions. More intensive study of photochemical reactions in perfumery chemicals is, therefore, necessary to insure the safety of fragrances formulated into consumer products. The authors discuss the photochemical reactions of fragrance materials in this two part series. Part I discusses in detail the photochemistry of ketones, olefms, and enones. Part II explores the photochemistry of aromatic compounds, photochemical reactions, and the phototoxicity of these materials.