Comparison of thermochemistry of aspartame (artificial sweetener) and glucose.

We have compared the gas phase thermochemical properties of aspartame (artificial sweetener) and alpha- and beta-glucose. These parameters include metal ion affinities with Li(+)-, Na(+)-, K(+)-, Mg(+2)-, Ca(+2)-, Fe(+2)-, Zn(+2)-ions, and chloride ion affinity by using DFT calculations. For example, for aspartame, the affinity values for the above described metal ions are, respectively, 86.5, 63.2, 44.2, 255.4, 178.4, 235.4, and 300.4, and for beta-glucose are 65.2, 47.3 32.9, 212.9, 140.2, 190.1, and 250.0 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The study shows differences between the intrinsic chemistry of aspartame and glucose.