Rapid determination of lactose, sucrose, glucose and fructose in foods by capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect ultraviolet detection

Abstract

A new and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of lactose, sucrose, glucose and fructose by capillary zone electrophoresis ( CZE) with indirect ultraviolet detection was developed. The separation was completed with an uncoated fused-silica capillary with 30.2 cm of total length (effective length of 20 cm) x 50 µm. The separation buffer consisted of 4 mmol/L potassium sorbate, 10 mmol/L sodium phosphate, 30 mmol/L NaOH (pH 12. 56) and 0. 5 mmol/L hexadecytrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The separation was performed at a voltage of -8 kV with the ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. The analysis of the four carbohydrates was completed within 10 min. The limits of detection (S/N= 3) for lactose, sucrose, glucose and fructose were 50, 75, 25 and 25 mg/L, and the limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 150, 225, 75 and 75 mg/L, respectively. The average recoveries for the four carbohydrates were in the range of 87.0%-107.0% with the relative standard deviations of 1.2%-4.7%. No organic solvent was consumed throughout the whole process of the analysis. The method was used for the analysis of nine food samples and a quality control sample. The results demonstrated that the method is simple, rapid, accurate, and suitable for the routine analysis of the four carbohydrates in food samples.