Methodology for assessing the performance of urine absorbing aids in controlling malodour release

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of comparing the performance of different absorbent aids in terms of odour control by discussing a suitable methodology for product evaluation. To overcome the problems of low test reproducibility owing to biological urine variability, the first step of the work consisted of the identification and the production of artificial urine having a constant and stable composition over time, moreover preventing sensorial assessors from any risk of biological contamination. Sensorial measurements were performed to optimize the similarity between artificial and biological urine, especially as far as the composition of the volatile component and therefore of the odour properties are concerned. The assessment of absorbent articles performance to control urine malodour includes both the concentration and the hedonic tone of the odour released by the article itself loaded with synthetic urine. Analyses were run on different products, which can be grouped into two different classes: absorbing aids with or without odour control technology (OCT) respectively. Results show that, despite of the presence or absence of OCT on absorbing products, their odour concentrations are almost identical, being comprised between 10 000 and 12 000 ou E m À3 . For this reason, it is evident that odour concentration is not suitable as the sole parameter for comparison of different absorbing products. Instead, the hedonic odour tone (odour pleasantness/unpleasantness) relevant to the different product typologies (that is products with and without OCT) should be used as an additional discriminating factor for this kind of comparative tests. R esum eLe but de cette etude est d' etudier la possibilit e de comparer la performance des diff erentes aides absorbants en termes de contrôle des odeurs, en d ecrivant une m ethodologie appropri ee pour l' evaluation des produits. Afin de surmonter les probl emes de la faible reproductibilit e du test en raison de la variabilit e biologique des urines, la premi ere etape du travail a consist e en l'identification et la production d'urine artificielle, ayant une composition constante et stable dans le temps, et par ailleurs permettant a pr evenir les evaluateurs sensoriels de tout risque de contamination biologique. Des mesures sensorielles ont et e r ealis ees afin d'optimiser la similitude entre l'urine artificielle et biologique, en particulier en ce qui concerne la composition du composant volatil et donc des propri et es odorantes. L' evaluation de la performance des articles absorbant pour contrôler les mauvaises odeurs d'urine comprend a la fois la concentration et la tonalit e h edonique de l'odeur d egag ee par l'article lui-même charg e d'urine synth etique. Les analyses ont et e effectu ees sur des produits diff erents, qui peuventêtre regroup es en deux cat egories diff erentes: des absorbants avec ou sans la technologie de contrôle des odeurs (OCT), respectivement. Les r esultats montrent qu'en d epit de la pr esence ou de l'absence de ...

Application and Uses of Electronic Noses for Clinical Diagnosis on Urine Samples: A Review

“…Referring to urine odour analysis, some examples of the application of such sensorial techniques exist, regarding for instance the evaluation of odour release from sanitary pads for urinary incontinence [30]. However, for this purpose, in order to overcome mainly problems related to the panel safety, the use of purposely formulated synthetic urine was preferred over real urine samples.…”

Olfactory Characterization of Typical Odorous Pollutants Part I: Relationship Between the Hedonic Tone and Odor Concentration

“…The OC is defined as being the dilution factor required to reach the sensory threshold. From the definition, we can see that the OC is independent of the odor character itself, and therefore cannot truly reflect the personal perception of diverse odors [21]. For example, the smell of perfume and sewage may have the same OC, but their psychological feelings are completely different, and the acceptable concentration levels are inevitably different.…”

Major Odorants Released as Urinary Volatiles by Urinary Incontinent Patients

“…Nonetheless, relatively little information is as yet available to characterize urinary volatiles for these cases. In addition, it is also difficult to know at what level these volatiles exist from previous studies which are essential to identify volatiles that exist above the human nose threshold [14]. …”