Since Baur discovered the musk odor in nitrated benzene derivatives, a tremendous amount of work has been carried out in this field. The chemistry and olfactive properties of musk compounds have intrigued scientists for a long time and still do. Ruzicka was awarded a Nobel Prize for his excellent work on macrocyclic musk compounds. Thorough reviews by Belov and Skvortsova, Beets, Wood, and Abe and Etoa have appeared in the literature.
Musk odors were found in -polynitro benzene derivatives, -macrocyclic compounds, -steroids, -heterocyclic compounds, -nitro free benzene derivatives, and uliphatic compounds.
