Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic determination of the oxyethylene group content of polysorbates

Guidelines for the oxyethylene group (EO) content of polysorbates are set by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives. However, the classical titration method for EO determination is difficult and time-consuming. Here, we show that quantitative (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy can determine the EO contents of polysorbates rapidly and simply. The EO signals were identified through comparisons with sorbitan monolaurate and poly(ethylene glycol) distearate. Potassium hydrogen phthalate was used as an internal standard. The EO contents were estimated from the ratio of the signal intensities of EO to the internal standard. Two nuclear magnetic resonance systems were used to validate the proposed method. The EO content of commercial polysorbates 20, 60, 65, and 80 was determined to be within the recommended limits using this technique. Our approach thus represents an additional or alternative method of determining the EO contents of polysorbates.