Structure-olfactory activity relationship in a group of substituted phenols

Using phenol as the standard relative olfactory thresholds have been determined for a series of substituted phenols in experiments with 8--10 human subjects. Significant relations have been obtained describing the activity as a square function of the hydrophobicity parameter corrected for ionization. Chromatographic measurement of phenol polarity has been proposed based on retention indices determined on phases of different polarity. The human sense of smell system has been discussed as a model for studies on drug-receptor interactions involving the living organism as a whole.