In short
Zenolide is IFF's ethylene dodecanedioate, a macrocyclic musk with a clean, creamy body and red-berry nuances. It is a close relative of ethylene brassylate.
What Zenolide smells like
Fraterworks describes Zenolide as a soft, clean macrocyclic musk with delicate red berry-fruit nuances, a sweet waxy body and a warm, gently animalic drydown. Scentspiracy calls it clean and elegant with a soft creamy body and smooth diffusion, and lists IFF, Takasago and Degussa (as Arova N) as makers. The Good Scents Company notes red berry nuances and a medium to strong, tenacious odour.
- Leading note
- Clean musk
- Clear facets
- Creamy
- Supporting facets
- Red berry, waxy
- Faint facets
- Animalic
- Character
- Soft, tenacious
What makes Zenolide distinctive
A clean macrocyclic musk with a hint of red berries.
How Zenolide is used
Used as a clean musk base and fixative in fine fragrance and functional products.
Typical role: fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes); blender (smooths the joins between other materials).
How Zenolide differs from similar materials
- Ethylene Brassylate
- Both are ethylene diester macrocyclic musks; Zenolide (one carbon shorter) is described with red-berry nuances and a creamier body.
Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Synthetic
- Odour family
- Musky / Fruity
- Note position
- Base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- Ethylene dodecanedioate
- CAS number
- 54982-83-1
- Molecular formula
- C14H24O4
- Molecular weight
- 256.34 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 1,4-dioxacyclohexadecane-5,16-dione
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 41270, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 24 October 2026.
Safety and compliance
Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,801 reports): H400 very toxic to aquatic life (97.7% of reports); H410 very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects (14.7% of reports). Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.
This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.
Materials it works with
-
Ethylene Brassylate
Aroma chemical · Musky / Powdery — musky, powdery, sweet, soft
-
Habanolide
Aroma chemical · Musky / Metallic — musky, clean, metallic, powdery
-
Galaxolide
Aroma chemical · Musky / Floral — musky, clean, sweet, floral
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 21 published formulas
Zenolide is an ingredient in 19 perfume formulas and 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Zenolide
Is Zenolide natural or synthetic?
Zenolide is synthetic — it is made by chemical synthesis.
What is the CAS number of Zenolide?
54982-83-1. It was checked against PubChem on 24 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Zenolide?
Zenolide is used in 21 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Bell Glass, Blackcurrant Signal and Cherry Blossom Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 41270, checked 24 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- Fraterworks — Zenolide — distributor's description.
- Scentspiracy — Musk C14 (Zenolide) — distributor's description.
- The Good Scents Company — ethylene dodecanedioate — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 24 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.