The heating method (oven method) together with Karl Fischer titration is used to determine the water content of tablets made of the artificial sweeteners aspartame and cyclamate
Cyclamate is a non-caloric sweetener being approximately 30 times as sweet as sucrose.
Cyclamate used in combination with other low-calorie sweeteners results in the synergistic effect of increased sweetness compared to the sum of the two individual sweeteners.
Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener being approximately 200 times as sweet as sucrose.
Aspartame is extremely unstable in the presence of moisture and undergoes hydrolytic degradation and subsequent loss of sweetness.
Hydrolytic degradation may be accelerated by elevated temperatures and is dependent on the pH value.
The heating method (oven method) together with Karl Fischer titration is used to determine the water content of tablets made of the artificial sweeteners aspartame and cyclamate.
As the tablets release their moisture only at high temperatures (aspartame: 130C, cyclamate 140C) the direct Karl Fischer determination is not suitable.
The oven method of Karl Fischer titration is also perfect for samples having a low solubility in alcohols or samples containing interfering components (eg vitamin C being present).
Metrohm's 832 KF Thermoprep is a very compact instrument containing the oven heating block, a gas pump, a flow meter, a flow controller and two drying flasks.
Single determinations can be carried out quickly and time as well as cost-saving.
Using a dry carrier gas, moisture is carried from the KF Thermoprep to the KF Coulometer where the water is determined with a diaphragm-less generator electrode.
