LABORATORY OF THE M O N T H From Test Tube to Dressing Table For a great many years, the producers of perfumes and other toilet items in which fragrance products are used had to rely solely on natural sources for their supplies of odoriferous raw materials. Although Dame Nature may be perfect in some fields, in the production of natural flower oils she is far from being completely reliable. Essential oils have been found to differ in odor from batch to batch. Bad weather has often decreased the available supply of natural oils and, more often, the whims of growers and processors have affected the supply and price picture. As a result, the perfume users sought synthetic substitutes which would adequately replace the natural, and the creation of these substitutes became the job of the chemist. In addition, the chemists in the field of aromatic chemicals and perfume raw materials constantly sought new and original odors which were not available from or found in nature. Some of the new scents which tantalize the nostrils of the world's feminine population are the result of long and patient research. One of the large research centers in the field of aromatic chemicals and perfume raw materials is located at the factory of The Givaudan Corp., Delawanna, N. J. Here nine newly designed and modernly equipped laboratories have been set up in which chemists work in close cooperation with the staffs of associated Givaudan companies abroad. The largest of the nine laboratories is devoted to analytical controls and research. Through careful analytical control, only materials of standardized chemical and olfactory purity from batch to batch are released for use. In this air-conditioned laboratory, the most modern analytical tools are used, including ultraviolet and infrared spectrophotometers. Other laboratories are devoted to research and development—the discovery of new and better odoriferous materials and processes and the improvement of aromatic chemicals now long in use. One of the laboratories is devoted to bacteriological research. Work is done on bactericides, germicides, and fungicides, and systematic studies of antibacterial and antifungal action of various aromatics are made.
A battery of extractors used in essential oil research
(Continued on page 44 A) A research chemist working at a laboratory still preparing a nitro musk
A research chemist in the process of synthesizing aldehydes in his laboratory
V O L U M E 2 7, NO. 3, M A R C H
1955
43 A
LABORATORY OF THE MONTH
A long view of the Analytical Control Laboratory with a laboratory assistant tabulat ing results in the foreground
Combustion analysis for carbon and hydrogen is a procedure in Givaudan's Analytical Control Laboratory Infrared spectral analysis is used to check the quality of raw materials in the Analytical Control Laboratory
In the Bacteriological Re search Laboratory, the bacteriologist and his assistant perform germi cidal tests
Using α Quebec colony counter, the bacteriol ogist reads test results. In the background, an assistant works in the sterilization room 44 A
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
