Is Alconox Scented?

Q. Is Alconox scented in any way? Does it contain any botanical ingredients or aromatic compounds? We are conducting a bioassay involving insect attraction to plant volatiles. Because of this, we need a cleaner that will not confound our results.

A. Thanks for your question about the fragrance and botanical content of Alconox. Alconox does not contain any fragrances or botanical extracts or compounds.

Alconox does contain sodium C10-16 alkylbenzene sulfonate, which has no particular human detectable aroma, but which does contain an aromatic benzene ring. You can see the structure HERE at Wikipedia.  I do not believe the alkylbenzene sulfonate would stimulate bio-receptors in insects, but you did ask about aromatic compounds so I want to be sure and disclose this ingredient. I would additionally comment that the alkylbenzene sulfonate is very free rinsing and is fairly unlikely to be left behind as a residue if you rinse thoroughly.

For more information about Alconox, please see the Alconox SDS and Technical Bulletin.  Samples are also available here at Request Sample.