Abstract: A method for simultaneous determination of eight sweeteners in dry food wrappings, acesulfame, saccharin sodium, sodium cyclamate, sucralose, aspartame, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, neotame, and stevioside, was developed by using matrix matched solvent calibration-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The matrix matching solvent was prepared by using the base paper. The analytes in samples were ultrasonically extracted with triethylamine buffer solution, separated on an XDB-C18 column by gradient elution using methanol-5 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution as the mobile phase. The mass spectrometry was performed in the positive and negative ion switching mode by multiple reaction monitoring mode with an electrospray ion source, and an external standard method was used for quantification. The results showed that under the optimal conditions, the developed method exhibited excellent linearity for the eight sweeteners (R2 ≥ 0.995). The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.13–2.50 mg/kg and 0.43–8.33 mg/kg, respectively. The spiked recoveries ranged from 85.49% to 108.81%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.24%–6.03%. When the method was used to test ten different commercial dry food wrappings for different brands of candy and chocolate, one sample was detected to contain acesulfame and neotame at 0.56 and 0.015 g/kg, respectively. This method had the advantages of rapidity, high efficiency and good reproducibility, making it a promising candidate for simultaneous quantitative determination of the eight sweeteners in dry food wrappings.

Key words: matrix matched solvent; high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; dry food wrappings; sweetener; matrix effects