Gradient elution HPLC/UV method for the determination of sweeteners in soft drinks

Abstract

As the consumption of processed foods with added sweeteners has risen in the recent years and often their amount is not declared, it is of the outmost importance to determine the quantity of additives ingested in our daily routine. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in gradient elution mode is a useful method frequently used in analytical laboratories for such determinations. Acesulfame-K, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, sucralose and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone are among the most used artificial sweeteners in the soft drink industry. The aim of this work is to develop a new UHPLC/UV (Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography with spectrometry detection) method using a gradient elution mode and a reversed-phase C18 column that enables the multi-determination of the aforesaid sweeteners in soft drinks along other common preservatives and antioxidants. This reversed-phase chromatography method is validated in terms of limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity of the working range, repeatability and reproducibility. To test the applicability of the method, several soft drink samples will be analysed. The final UHPLC/UV method developed will be transferred onto a teaching guide for future undergraduate students of the subject of “Laboratori de Química Analítica, LQA”.