title: Quantitative Validation of then-Butanol Sniffin' Sticks Threshold Pens.
abstract: Odorant pens are used by medical practitioners and researchers to assess olfactory dysfunction. Despite their routine use, there are currently no data on the gas-phase odorant concentrations released from the pen tips or whether these concentrations scale linearly with the aqueous-phase concentrations inside the pens. The commercially available Sniffin' Sticks odor threshold test containingn-butanol was chosen for evaluation. The gas-phase concentration ofn-butanol at the tip of each pen was measured directly in a new set of pens via proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Measurements were additionally made on the same pens after 6 months and two older pen sets, namely a 3-year-old (used) and 4-year-old (new) set. Furthermore, application-related tests were made to determine the performance of the pens during routine use and under stress. These data demonstrate that the gas-phasen-butanol concentrations of the threshold pens are linear over the entire set, both for brand-new pens and 6 months later; this reflects the expected performance that was previously only assumed. Furthermore, the application-simulation tests demonstrated a good performance of the pens when used according to their intended protocol. Measurements of the older pen sets suggest that storage conditions are more critical than usage for pen stability. The present findings confirm that then-butanol odorant pens are an appropriate tool for threshold testing, provided they are stored and handled correctly. Figureᅟ
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9, 91054 Erlangen, Germany ; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Denzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Sensory Analytics, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, 85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gailer
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Human Development, and The Institute for Mind and Biology, The University of Chicago, 940 E 57th St., Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Ave., MC2007, Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: L Philip
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Schumm
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thuerauf
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornhuber
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9, 91054 Erlangen, Germany ; Department of Sensory Analytics, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, 85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buettner
authors.affiliation: Department of Sensory Analytics, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, 85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beauchamp
keywords: Odor threshold test; Olfaction; PTR-MS; Sniffin’ Sticks; n-Butanol