Investigations on the degradation of aspartame using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry  

作　　者：Jie-Ping Sun Qiang Han Xiao-Qiong Zhang Ming-Yu Ding 

机构地区：[1]Beijing Key Laboratory for Microanalytical Methods and Instrumentation,Department of Chemistry,Tsinghua University

出　　处：《Chinese Chemical Letters》2014年第9期1259-1264,共6页中国化学快报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No.21075074)

摘　　要：Aspartame is a widely used sweetener, the long-term safety of which has been controversial ever since it was accepted for human consumption. It is unstable and can produce some harmful degradation products under certain storage conditions. A high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of aspartame and its four degradation products, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, aspartyl-phenylalanine and 5-benzyl-3,6- dioxo-2-piperazieacetic acid in water and in diet soft drinks. Aspartame and its four degradation products were quantified by a matrix matched external standard calibration curve with excellent correlation coefficients. The limits of detection were 0.16-5.8 μg/L, which exhibited higher sensitivity than common methods. This method was rapid, sensitive, specific and capable of eliminating matrix interferences. It was also applied to the study of the degradation of aspartame at various pH and temperatures. The results indicated that aspartame was partly degraded under strong acidic or basic conditions and the extent of degradation increased with increasing temperature.Aspartame is a widely used sweetener, the long-term safety of which has been controversial ever since it was accepted for human consumption. It is unstable and can produce some harmful degradation products under certain storage conditions. A high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of aspartame and its four degradation products, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, aspartyl-phenylalanine and 5-benzyl-3,6- dioxo-2-piperazieacetic acid in water and in diet soft drinks. Aspartame and its four degradation products were quantified by a matrix matched external standard calibration curve with excellent correlation coefficients. The limits of detection were 0.16-5.8 μg/L, which exhibited higher sensitivity than common methods. This method was rapid, sensitive, specific and capable of eliminating matrix interferences. It was also applied to the study of the degradation of aspartame at various pH and temperatures. The results indicated that aspartame was partly degraded under strong acidic or basic conditions and the extent of degradation increased with increasing temperature.

关 键 词：High-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry ASPARTAME Degradation productsCola 

分 类 号：O657.63[理学—分析化学] TS202.3[理学—化学]