Synthetic Musk Compounds in Environmental Systems

Synthetic musk compounds (SMCs) are man-made fragrance chemicals extensively employed in personal care products, detergents and household commodities. Classified broadly into nitro, polycyclic and macrocyclic structures, SMCs exhibit high lipophilicity and chemical stability that foster persistence across air, water and soil compartments. Their widespread use has led to ubiquitous detection in marine and freshwater systems, sediments, suspended particulates and even remote polar regions. Key environmental processes—such as photodegradation, biodegradation, sorption, volatilisation and long-range atmospheric transport—govern their fate, while physicochemical properties determine removal efficiencies during wastewater treatment and natural attenuation pathways. SMCs may bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms, raising ecological and human health concerns related to endocrine disruption, cellular transporter inhibition and potential synergistic toxicity. Modelling approaches, including fugacity-based and mechanistic photolysis simulations, have advanced understanding of environmental concentrations and spatiotemporal trends, underpinning risk assessments and regulatory measures. Global studies highlight regional hotspots near urban centres and treatment plant effluents, prompting the development of targeted mitigation strategies. Recent advances also encompass green chemistry initiatives to design derivatives with improved degradability and reduced bioaccumulation. Collectively, research in this field emphasises the need for integrated monitoring, standardised analytical protocols and cross-disciplinary collaboration to manage the persistence and impacts of SMCs in environmental systems.

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Synthetic Musk Compounds in Environmental Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in synthetic musk compounds in environmental systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Synthetic musk compound (SMC): A class of synthetic fragrance molecules used in consumer products, often classified as nitro, polycyclic or macrocyclic musks.

Polycyclic musk: A subgroup of SMCs characterised by multiple aromatic rings, known for environmental persistence and bioaccumulation potential.

Nitro musk: An early class of SMCs containing nitro functional groups, largely phased out but still detectable due to persistence.

Macrocyclic musk: Musks with large ring structures, generally more biodegradable and less bioaccumulative than polycyclic analogues.

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP): An engineered facility designed to remove contaminants from sewage, where SMC removal depends on processes like sorption and microbial degradation.

Fugacity-based model: A mathematical approach for simulating the distribution and transport of chemicals across environmental compartments based on chemical potential.

Bioaccumulation: The process by which substances concentrate in living organisms over time, often used to assess ecological and human health risks.

References

1. Assessing Contributions of Synthetic Musk Compounds from Wastewater Treatment Plants to Atmospheric and Aquatic Environments. Environmental Science and Technology (2024).
2. Synthetic musks in the natural environment: Sources, occurrence, concentration, and fate-A review of recent developments (2010–2023). The Science of The Total Environment (2024).
3. Nitromusk and Polycyclic Musk Compounds as Long-Term Inhibitors of Cellular Xenobiotic Defense Systems Mediated by Multidrug Transporters. Environmental Health Perspectives (2004).
4. Occurrence and Sources of Synthetic Musk Fragrances in the Sewage Treatment Plants and the Han River, Korea. Water (2021).