Binding of selected odorants to bovine and porcine odorant-binding proteins

Twenty floral smelling tetrahydropyranyl and tetrahydrofuranyl ethers, and 12 additional compounds with different odours were used in ligand-binding experiments with purified 19 kDa bovine OBP and 22 kDa porcine OBP. Most of the odorants examined were found to be good ligands for both proteins, with dissociation constants in the micromolar range; the data confirm the broad binding specificity of OBPs. Significant differences, however, measured with some odorants, indicate the possibility of using OBPs, purified from several animal species, in biosensor for odour discrimination.