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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Package of Established Analytical Tools to Investigate the Solid-State Alteration of Lipid-Based Excipients
Published on: August 9, 2022
Detailed analysis of ACETEM emulsifiers and emulsifier products
Katharina Schuster1, Tanja Wernlein1, Tong Wang1
1Department of Food Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry (170a), Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 28, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
Abstract:
Only a few methods are currently available for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of ACETEM emulsifiers, which are defined as acetic acid esters of mono- and diacylglycerols of edible fats and oils. These emulsifiers are structurally closely related to fats, making their analysis particularly challenging in fat-containing matrices. In the present study, an ACETEM emulsifier and an ACETEM-containing product selected by stratified random sampling are characterized using different analytical techniques such as high-performance thin-layer chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPTLC-FLD) and coupling to mass spectrometry (TLC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to MS (HPLC-MS), direct infusion electrospray ionization tandem MS (DI-ESI-MS/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Furthermore, a method for the semi-quantitative determination of selected ACETEM compounds by HPLC-MS/MS was developed, which involved the synthesis of four analytical standards (mono- and diacetylated glycerol 1-monopalmitate and glycerol 1-monostearate). The determination of these substances in six ACETEM emulsifiers showed that these compounds make up 16-97% of the analyzed emulsifiers, with considerable variation in the proportion of mono- and diacetylated species.
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