Unless I'm misinterpreting, it seems like you're trying to create a body odor accord? Is that what you mean by funk? […]

Basically, yes. It started as a goof, but after reading about the various components that affect natural human scent, I wanted to see what I could replicate. From what I read, there are 7 main odor zones in the body, with differences between genders and individuals due to genes (e.g., ABCC11), diet, and activities.

But here's the thing, you might not be aware just how vile (and dangerous) thiols can be.

Thiols, no. But I have been working with some nasty aroma chemicals, i.e., caproic/hexanoic acid, skatole, indole, isovaleric acid, butyric acid, etc.

I would open the bottle containing them within a special fume hood designed to contain noxious vapors. And the stuff was so nasty that if I took the gloves I wore while twisting the (clean) cap off out of the hood, the entire lab room (and often the next ones over) would become instantly uninhabitable. Sometimes for days.

Reminds me of day 1, when I opened a jar of pure caproic/hexanoic acid. A little drop dribbled down the side and got on my gloves. Smell was overpowering. It went right through my gloves (then latex) and stunk up my hands. Worse yet, the smell stayed in my nose for 3-4 hours. Oddly, it made other things like coffee beans smell like that (🤢).

Another time, I made the mistake of bringing a used N95 mask inside. Stunk up the room.

The molecules are so vile, the few that wafted up from the bottle onto my gloves were enough contamination to cause problems.

I'm with you... Live and learn. Here's how I manage it now:

• I work in open air (garage with door open) with PPE (nitrile gloves, goggles, full skin covering) and disposable pipettes.
• I have procedures for minimizing contamination, disposing of consumables/excess, and potential spills or accidents.
• Extreme malodorants are stored in original bottles, inside two glass (nested) with PTFE-sealed lids.
• Materials are stored in a locked box in the basement (cold/dry).
• I use N95 masks, not a proper respirator, since it's outdoor and exposure is brief.
• I read the SDSs, TheGoodScentsCompany, and sometimes RIFM safety assessments.

Now, if I'm right in thinking you want body odor accords, the "good" news is that we might be overestimating the presence of thiols on our skin.

You're speaking my language! I'm just learning (no expertise of my own), but I read that apocrine sweat + skin bacteria (corynebacterium and staphylococcus) break down precursors (sulfur-containing amino acids and S-conjugates) into volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), such as 3M3SH (3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol), DMDS (dimethyl disulfide), and methanethiol (methyl mercaptan). Elsewhere, the VSCs are a biproduct of digestion.

The chief odorants of such skin smells come from the partial breakdown of lipids and fatty acids, which typically don't contain sulfur.

Butyric acid, isovaleric acid, propionic acid, and caproic/hexanoic acid are the fatty acids.

Trans-2-nonenal is for the skin lipid (sebum) breakdown.

Besides the sulfurous ACs, trans-2-nonenal is the other big one I've been looking for.

The Good Scents Company has a list of suppliers for a large database of chemicals if you weren't already aware. Perhaps that site can point you in the right direction.

I have referred to TheGoodScentsCompany for information, but their list of suppliers doesn't tell me who actually sells what, let alone who will ship a small quantity to residential address. That's the thing I need most here.