Fragrance and Attraction

The fragrance of flowers, fruits, and fauna of natural scents have long been highly popular. What makes this attraction possible? What is the chemistry of fragrance and flavors? This chapter is based on the plenary lecture given at the "Chemistry of Sex" symposium held during the 2018 Spring ACS meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. This chapter will focus on the chemical basis of fragrance attraction and presents a rich tapestry of chemistry and the vibrant fragrance industry behind our emotional attraction to scents and perfumes. Perfumery examples delineating how minor changes in the structure, stereochemistry, shape, and chirality of a fragrance ingredient or a scent molecule influence its smell, pleasantness, and usefulness are highlighted. Thanks to the technological advances in the art of organic synthesis, perfumes, once the luxury of kings and queens, have now become available for everyone to enjoy. Brief glimpses of the power of synthetic chemistry and biotechnology in a quest for new scents are presented.