UK researchers have developed the first perfume delivery system which ensures the more a person sweats, the better they smell.
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast developed the perfume delivery system which releases more of its aroma when it comes into contact with moisture, meaning a person smells nicer when their sweat levels increase.
The perfume system has been created by tagging a raw fragrance onto an ionic liquid (salt in the form of liquid) which has no smell.
The 'perfumed ionic liquid' releases its aroma when it comes into contact with water, allowing more of the perfume's scent to be released onto a person's skin.
In addition, the perfume system also has the ability to remove the bad odours that come from sweat. The 'thiol' compounds that are responsible for the malodour of sweat are attracted to the ionic liquid, attaching themselves to it and losing their potency.
Researchers in the Queen's University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) Research Centre are currently working with a perfume development company to identify a number of product ideas that could eventually be sold in shops.
"This is an exciting breakthrough that uses newly discovered ionic liquid systems to release material in a controlled manner," said Project leader, Dr Nimal Gunaratne, from QUILL.
"Not only does it have great commercial potential, and could be used in perfumes and cosmetic creams, but it could also be used in others area of science, such as the slow release of certain substances of interest," he said.
