Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Chemical properties of Acesulfame-K & Safety


	Not logged in [Login ]

FAQ

Member List

Today's Posts Forum Stats

Stats

Back to:

Sciencemadness Discussion Board » Fundamentals » Organic Chemistry » Chemical properties of Acesulfame-K & Safety

Printable Version

jimmyboy

Hazard to Others

Posts: 235
Registered: 1-3-2004
Location: Texas
Member Is Offline

Mood: No Mood

posted on 7-6-2009 at 14:49

Chemical properties of Acesulfame-K & Safety

I have been on the fence lately on whether this stuff is safe - it is in virtually every last thing you find in the store - what really galls me is the molecule's similarity to a phenolic ring which usually means problems - aspartame, sucralose and saccharin all have the rings but acesulfame has a sulfur which makes it unique - I have found the following info after digging awhile - but I still can't find its solubility data for non-polars like hexane/chloroform/ether
or whether it is transported across the blood brain barrier (although I feel its unlikely with its large molecular weight 200+)

here is what I have so far after digging

Acesulfame does not melt it breaks down into acetoacetamide at 225degC which is highly soluble in non-polar solvents - normal baking does not cause the decomposition
Freely soluble in water and acetic acid
Poorly soluble in ethanol/acetone 1 g/liter - slightly soluble in glycerol 30g/liter - decomposes over time (10% over a year at room temp) and becomes less stable in alkaline conditions
Carbon-14 Acesulfame is almost completely excreted within 48 hours and shows no sign of accumulation within the body (after 10 days of testing)
Acesulfame K was neither mutagenic nor cytotoxic in the Ames' test using four strains of Salmonella typhimurium
Sources: National Institutes of Health; World Health Organization; Wiki; Acesulfame-K By D. G. Mayer; Artificial Sweeteners By A. W. Hayes

anymore interesting data would be appreciated - thanks

UnintentionalChaos

International Hazard

Posts: 1454
Registered: 9-12-2006
Location: Mars
Member Is Offline

Mood: Nucleophilic

posted on 7-6-2009 at 22:30

I think you must be imagining things of you see a phenol in there somewhere. I think you're looking for the word "phenyl." You may also want to note that ring structures are ubiquitous in organic molecules of all kinds like your DNA, for example. Aside from this, it doesn't even look like a phenyl ring. The main problem with those is that they're aromatics and can in some cases be metabolized to epoxides (as with benzene). This is not an aromatic, or even close.

None of the other data you provided suggests any toxicity or hazard and the quantities you are consuming are quite low to start with, since it is much stronger than sugar.

Department of Redundancy Department - Now with paperwork!

'In organic synthesis, we call decomposition products "crap", however this is not a IUPAC approved nomenclature.' -Nicodem

Sciencemadness Discussion Board » Fundamentals » Organic Chemistry » Chemical properties of Acesulfame-K & Safety