Hydrolyzable Quaternary Pyridinium Surfactants: Antimicrobial Profragrances for Controllable Perfume Release

Long-lasting aroma release from the target surfaces is a considerable challenge in the field of fragrances. Here, we report a class of profragrances on the basis of quaternary pyridinium salts (QPS), in which the perfume alcohols are linked with an ester group. Releasing fragrances by hydrolysis of ester bonds in an aqueous environment is aiming at circumventing the bottleneck of long-lasting aroma. Specifically, antimicrobial surfactants and controllable fragrance delivery systems are merged with their intrinsic structural properties. The surface tension of QPS is measured with the critical micelle concentration (CMC) ranging from 0.0029–0.492 mmol L–1 and γ-CMC values of 19.5–34.9 mN m–1. The antibacterial performance of QPS is expressed by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, along with an excellent activity on Gram-positive bacteria. Their release performance is determined by the combination of headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography (HS-SPME–GC) indicative of a significant retention capacity for volatile alcohols. These QPS-based profragrances could be used as a suitable fragrance delivery system in household products.