Identification and characterisation of the E951 artificial food sweetener by vibrational spectroscopy and theoretical modelling

Aspartame (E951), a very well-known dipeptide sweetener, approximately 150-200 times sweeter than sugar, is widely used in a variety of applications, especially in soft drinks. A drawback of E951 is its relatively low stability at high pH values and at high temperatures, thereby limiting its use. The changes observed in the very strong bands from the 1600-1300 cm(-1) spectral region, characteristic to the upsilon(CO) mode coupled with the NH bending mode, allows to establish the species present in the Raman and SERS solutions at different concentrations and pH values. More exactly, a molecule protonation at the amino group was detected on going from basic to acidic pH values. The DFT calculated geometry, harmonic vibrational modes and Raman scattering activities of E951 were in good agreement with the experimental data and helped establish its SERS behaviour on silver surfaces. According to the DFT calculations performed, E951 can give rise to an intramolecular hydrogen bonding network, with lengths in the same range as the hydrogen bonds in the peptide unit moieties. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.