HPLC-MS/MS analysis of 9 artificial sweeteners in imported foods

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 9 artificial sweeteners (acesulfame-K, cyclamate, sodium saccharin, aspartame, alitame, neotame, sucralose, dulcin, and neohesperidine dihydrochalcone) in imported foods by HPLC-MS/MS was developed. Samples were extracted with buffer solution (pH 4.5). The supernatant was analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS after centrifugation and filtration. The sample was separated on a thermo hypersil BPS C18 (250×3 mm, 5-μm) column, and detected by MS/MS with selective reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The correlation coefficients (r 2) of the calibration curve were >0.99. The recoveries were 90.0–107.5% with good coefficients of variation of 1.8–8.6%. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were between 0.001 and 0.375 mg/mL and between 0.003 and 1.125 mg/mL, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of the 9 sweeteners in various foods.