Ivar Karl Ugi states that "The development of the chemistry of isocyanides has probably suffered only little delay through the characteristic odor of volatile isonitriles, which has been described by Hofmann and Gautier as 'highly specific, almost overpowering', 'horrible', and 'extremely distressing'.
Ivar Karl Ugi menyatakan bahwa "Perkembangan kimia isosianida mungkin telah menderita ... melalui bau khas isonitril yang mudah menguap, yang telah dijelaskan oleh Hofmann dan Gautier sebagai 'sangat spesifik, hampir menyengat', 'mengerikan', dan 'sangat menyedihkan'.