Determination of sweetener substitute content in chewing gum

The bachelor thesis deals with the simultaneous determination of selected sweeteners in chewing gum by high-performance liquid chromatography with ELSD detection. The theoretical part is devoted to the characterization of carbohydrates and their effect on human health, classification, characterization of selected sweeteners and their use. Furthermore, a brief overview of analytical methods by which sweeteners can be determined is given. The experimental part focuses on the selection of a suitable chromatographic column for the simple identification of seven sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, mannitol, maltitol, sucralose and xylitol) and the optimization of the mobile phase composition. It was found that it is not possible to determine all sweeteners by one universal method, however, using an Agilent Hi-Plex Ca column (300 x 7.7 mm) and the mobile phase of acetonitrile:water at 7:93 % v/v, it was possible to determine the concentration of (maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, sucralose and xylitol). For the analysis of the individual sweeteners, different sample dilutions had to be used or the composition of the mobile phase had to be slightly changed. The concentration of artificial sweeteners in the chewing gum ranged from 0,35 mg/g (sucralose) to 508 mg/g (xylitol)