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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase
Published on: April 23, 2019
Unravelling the Olfactory Sense: From the Gene to Odor Perception
Carla S Silva Teixeira1, Nuno M F S A Cerqueira2, António C Silva Ferreira3
1Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
Although neglected by science for a long time, the olfactory sense is now the focus of a panoply of studies that bring new insights and raises interesting questions regarding its functioning. The importance in the clarification of this process is of interest for science, but also motivated by the food and perfume industries boosted by a consumer society with increasingly demands for higher quality standards. In this review, a general overview of the state of art of science regarding the olfactory sense is presented with the main focus on the peripheral olfactory system. Special emphasis will be given to the deorphanization of the olfactory receptors (ORs), a critical issue because the specificity and functional properties of about 90% of human ORs remain unknown mainly due to the difficulties associated with the functional expression of ORs in high yields.
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