Determination of acesulfame and sucralose in oral electrolyte maintenance solution by liquid chromatography

A method was developed for the direct, simultaneous determination of acesulfame and sucralose in oral electrolyte maintenance solution (OEMS). Analyte separation and quantitation were achieved by gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) and UV absorbance at 192 nm, respectively. Detection at a second wavelength, 214 nm, was used to check sucralose peak purity; 20 microL OEMS was injected without preparation or dilution. System linearity was demonstrated as 192 nm peak area versus analyte concentration at 80-120% OEMS sweetener fortification (r > 0.999, and all residuals < 0.5%, for both acesulfame and sucralose). Spike recoveries for OEMS samples prepared at 3 spiking levels (80, 100, and 120% sweetener fortification) ranged from 100.3 to 102.0% for acesulfame, and from 97.9 to 102.3% for sucralose. In a second assessment of method accuracy, the same spiked OEMS samples were tested by 2 alternative methods: acesulfame (LC/UV at 230 nm) and sucralose (anion exchange-pulsed amperometric detection). Results for the alternative acesulfame method were within 1.2%, and for the alternative sucralose method within 6.0%, of the corresponding results obtained by the 192 nm method. Repeatability and intermediate precision RSD values were < 1 % for acesulfame and < 3% for sucralose. The limits of quantitation were 1.6 and 32 mg/L for acesulfame potassium and sucralose, respectively. Despite the weak UV absorptivity of sucralose and the consequent small size of its LC peak, no evidence was found for sucralose interference in any of the commercial OEMS flavors.