How To Isolate Splenda

Millions of people enjoy the fake sweetener in the little yellow package every day.

What they may not know is that the sweetening agent is only a minor component of what's in the packet. Would you like to get your hands on some pure, uncut sucralose? I know that I would.

Now, before you ask, you don't need fancy equipment or laboratory conditions to do this. If, however, you are like me - a grad student with some time to kill on the weekend - it sure doesn't hurt.

Step 1: Educate!

The active ingredient in Splenda, sucralose, is closely related to sucrose. In a five-step synthesis, three positions on the sugar are chlorinated, which renders it both indigestible and intensely sweet.

Like, 600 times sweeter than sugar.

So, if you got a sugar-sized packet of pure sucralose, your iced tea would taste like rock candy. So, Splenda actually contains mostly flavorless maltodextrin.

But how do we separate the sucralose from the maltodextrin?

Well, the chlorine atoms make sucralose much more hydrophobic (oil-liking) than an ordinary sugar like maltodextrin. So, by using a nonpolar solvent like acetone or isopropanol the sucralose can be dissolved and the maltodextrin filtered off.

For you organic chemistry fans out there, I've included the synthesis below.

Comments

[ALogan97]

As an alternate method (because this utterly refuses to work for me), could one use steam distillation? It apparently works for essential oil production, but would the sucralose be too heavy for the steam to carry? Or would the distillate still contain maltodextrin? I doubt that the steam distillation process would work for this, but I'm unsure, so I shall ask your opinions on it.

[Mongpoovian]

Steam distillation is ideal for separating an immiscible mixture of two liquids, which is why it works so well for essential oil distillation. I don't think you'd get a measurable amount of sucralose out of a steam distillation.

And to your other comment - you could probably burn of the alcohol to speed recovery. Just be careful to avoid scorching!

[ALogan97]

If we use isopropanol, could we burn it off to speed up the evaporation process, or would this negatively affect the resulting sucralose?

[aakemp123]

If something is hydrophobic, that doesn't necessarily mean it likes oil, it means the substance doesn't like water. Acetone is a polar substance and wouldn't work in this experiment the same way isopropanol would. Good idea for an experiment though!

[rhangatoby]

wait, if we shouldnt eat it if we used acetone, then why use acetone?

[sijmad]

Is acetone is a "non polar" solvent? That is strange!!

[Mongpoovian]

Well, it's non-polar compared to water. In the total spectrum of solvents it would be considered closer to the polar end, but you can't buy ether or benzene at the hardware store.

[DeusXMachina]

Sure you can! Ether comes in the aerosol engine starter fluid cans. And while you can't find benzene, you can use toluene or xylene, which are effectively the same in terms of hydrophobic properties.

[Arano]

you should not use benzene, as it causes cancer. toluene is does not (or at least there is no proof it does).

[Mongpoovian]

I'm not sure if toluene or benzene would work as well, they might be too far into nonpolar territory to really dissolve the sucralose. Plus, the boiling point of toluene is prohibitively high, so it would take days to remove all the solvent residue from your product.

Looking into the patents for sucralose, it looks like ethyl acetate is the solvent of choice for dissolution or extraction - now all we have to do is find a way to purify it from nail polish remover...

[Arano]

boilingpoint does not matter very much... its more about vapor pressure... and for your acethone its about a quarter atm at 20°C so all your acethone will vaporise very quick, as long as the acethone-vapor has no partial pressure of a quarter atm.

[ArcticLiz]

Hey! uhm.. I gotta question.. you still remember how much acethone you used?? Thanks! :D

[Mongpoovian]

I think I used two 40-50 ml portions of solvent. It was a while ago, though...

[ArcticLiz]

oh.. I guess it will be useful.. thanks! :D

[Mongpoovian]

What sort of isolation do you need to do?

[ArcticLiz]

isolate the sucralose from Splenda (:

[ArcticLiz]

Hey! Thanks so much! Believe it or not I NEEDED some sort of isolation like this one for my chem class.. :D thanks sooo much!

[Mongpoovian]

Glad it could help!

[REA]

what could the sucralose be used for once isolated?

[Mongpoovian]

I'm still working on that one...

[REA]

perhaps its flamable? or explosive?or can react with stable molecules to make them radioactive?

[Pie Ninja]

Instead of Everclear would it be possible to use pure ethanol?

[delphinkid]

Everclear is essentially just ethanol in itself, so pure ethanol would work.

[Pie Ninja]

sweeeeet. (quite literally, actually :P)

[montdor1]

Kitchen chemistry heaven. My question, and I mean this deeply and only in the spirit of information, is if there are any psychoactive properties to pure sucralose. And what are some uses for it? Is it a precursor to anything worthwhile, whatever that means?

[delphinkid]

No, sucralose is basically ordinary household sugar but with a few substituted chlorine atoms. If you could convert it back to sucrose or another sugar I suppose you could use it to make ethanol, but that would be a really inefficient way of doing it.

[Koolraap]

What is everclear composed of ? i live in Holland and I'm pretty sure they don't have that brand over here :}

[Mongpoovian]

Here in the US, at least, it's more commonly known as grain alcohol - look for 95% (or 190 proof) on the label.

[marine12320]

isopropanol is just isopropyl alchohol right? also, if i have like 90% Isopropyl alchohol, is it safe to taste a tiny bit of the sucralose?

[Mongpoovian]

Yeah, isopropanol is the same as isopropyl alcohol. People can tolerate isopropanol in small amounts pretty well, so a little taste won't hurt you. If you're worried about the alcohol, just let the solid sit in a warm place until you can't smell the alcohol anymore - most people can smell it at about 22 parts per million, which means that if you can't smell it on the solid, it isn't a threat.

[dniloc2cv]

Not completely sure but USA plant is about 50 miles from me an I think one of the primary ingredients is Clorine...some such HazMat.

[whorger]

There is an acetone that is supposed to be as free of contaminants as possible. It's called "optics grade" acetone, and is used in the final cleaning process for the highest quality optical mirrors.

Still, having any thing in my mouth that once came in contact with acetone makes me shiver!

Give me sodium hydroxide (lye) anytime: re: ludafisk.

[lobo_pal]

I like your rhyming steps, it makes science seem cool. Yes I do realize how geeky that sounded.

[Mongpoovian]

I try my best. :)

[lobo_pal]

Is it save to eat, or will the sweetness make your toungh explode or something?

[Mongpoovian]

As long as you use a non-toxic solvent, it's perfectly safe to eat.

[AZsid]

So, if you use Everclear and don't evaporate it off you would be left with a super sweetened mixer?

[Mongpoovian]

I think you would indeed.

[Father Christmas]

hmm. i might suggest this to my Chem teacher this year. I took the same class last year, but i needed another credit so it took it anyway. this could prove very entertaining...

[Harryone]

You might try the local medium-box drug store for 70% ethyl alcohol. It has a trace of acetone (for the taste), but it's clean enough, and the acetone leaves soon enough. Getcher Splenda by the pound cheaply at WalMart or the moral equivalent (made in China, so you know it's... interesting.)

[rfmonaco]

Why not just buy pure liquid sucralose from http://www.sweetzfree.com/ ?

[jacobtriffo]

thats a trick, sucralose is solid at room temperature... you can order it, it is outrageously sweet, and definitely powdered

[Harryone]

That'd take all the fun outa doin' it. Why else would we go to all this trouble? Like makin' yer own bookcase for twice the cost of buyin' one.

[doobuzz]

I've just tried it with vodka - to no avail. I think it failed for a number of reasons: 1. To weak'a solvent 2. Too much solute! (i mixed about 50g of splenda into 100ml of vodka - oops) 3. Due to the syrup-like consistency and straight impatience i tried to "speed up" the process by putting it under the grill - although this did produce a white solid in the end it might well have denatured the compound (any thoughts?). In fact it produced far more than i expected, indicating that there was still rather a lot of maltodextrin left over :-( So next time, more and stronger solvent, and less splenda!

[Mongpoovian]

Splenda's pretty heat-stable, but if there was some browning it probably decomposed a bit. You're probably right about there being a lot of maltodextrin - the syrupy consistency was probably mostly water being held there by the maltodextin.

[recon506]

Is there a way to use Acetone while still having it taste good and be edible?

[Mongpoovian]

That's a good question. If you could get your hands on some really high-quality solvent, it would (probably) be OK. I'm not sure where to get that outside of buying it from a chemical company or carefully distilling some less pure stuff.

[eight]

Wow. Not what I expected. Pleasantly surprised. Thank you. Rather than Oil Loving, scared of water seems more apt... (Quote: 'water in Attic Greek hydro- and for fear phobos") But you know that and are obviously an intelligent person. May I just say that any project that stops morons filling their bodies with Aspertame is gold and I implore others to watch Dr Russell Blaylock's docco on Aspertame. It is an eye opener !

[recon506]

Confused...

[sonaps]

Agreed....

[recon506]

What if I dissolved it in 99% rubbing alcohol, then dissolved it in water and boiled the water off? I'm guessing that the water would wash out the acetone, then boiling the water off would result in the ethanol evaporating, as its boiling point is lower than water's. What do you think?

[Mongpoovian]

The thing that makes me wary of using acetone for stuff you might eat is that there's no way of knowing what non-volatile impurities there might be in there.

If you're already using 99% alcohol, you could boil it straight off if you're in a hurry, but be careful - it's not so great to breathe, and it's really flammable. It's a lot easier (and safer) to just let it evaporate slowly.

[recon506]

What I'm saying is to use the ethanol, let it evaporate, then dissolve in water and boil off. This way I get rid of the impurities, while not having to boil ethanol (yuck.)

[Jonny Appleseed]

do you think that tequila would work?

[Mongpoovian]

Tequila would certainly dissolve sucralose, but at only 40-60% alcohol, you'd end up with a lot more maltodextrin in the final product. Also, after evaporation, the tequila would likely leave quite a bit of tequila flavor behind.

[sonaps]

Who's complaining about the flavor of Tequila? That may, in fact, be a portion of why he asked (I know it'd be a part of why I would've).

[Johnsons on fire]

is there any use of the sucralose other than something that is really sweet (explosive hopefully)?

[Mongpoovian]

Explosion... Of flavor? Seriously, though. You can nitrate normal sucrose to make an explosive, so I suppose there's nothing to stop you from doing the same with sucralose. Somehow I don't think it would be terribly interesting, though.

[ewilhelm]

This thread had me laughing for a minute, at least.

[Johnsons on fire]

thanks. nice to know I get to have the special attention of the co-founder, but in all seriousness how did my comment catch your attention?

[die_dunkelheit]

Are you concerned about any impurity left behind by the acetone?

[Mongpoovian]

Yes. I didn't taste the batch I made in the lab, both because I didn't use new glassware and the prospect of accidentally ingesting whatever's left over from technical grade acetone concerned me.

[wingbatwu]

What I'd like to know is how to isolate stevioside and rebaudioside from stevia leaves...

[mr BT]

Too bad that some of the eventual metabolites of stevioside have been found to be mutagenic. Otherwise it would make a fantastic alternative for diabetics and anyone who could afford to drop a few pounds. I know the Japanese have been consuming it. - But I wouldn't.

[ndm1973]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia#Health_controversy

From what it says here, the way data was handled, even distilled water would have appeared mutagenic.

[JoelDude]

well you might be wrong on that statement about the mutagenic. Here's from wikipedia: "A 1985 study reporting that steviol may be a mutagen[7] has been criticized on procedural grounds that the data were mishandled in such a way that even distilled water would appear mutagenic.[8] More recent studies appear to establish the safety of steviol and its glycosides. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) performed a thorough evaluation of recent experimental studies of stevia extracts conducted on animals and humans, and concluded that "stevioside and rebaudioside A are not genotoxic in vitro or in vivo and that the genotoxicity of steviol and some of its oxidative derivatives in vitro is not expressed in vivo."[9] The report also found no evidence of carcinogenic activity. The report also suggested the possibility of health benefits, in that "stevioside has shown some evidence of pharmacological effects in patients with hypertension or with type-2 diabetes"[9], but concluded that further study was required to determine proper dosage." I guess we'll find out in the next couple of years of its really safe. after all like you said, japanese consume it!

[mr BT]

Hmmm. Good food for thought. Just in case you're interested, here's a link to the abstract (I couldn't find more) for the 1985 study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3887402
And here's a link to a (full text) 1991 paper in re-examining the 1985 study suggesting stevioside is not as nasty as first reported.

[mr BT]

oops. left the last link out.
http://www.cookingwithstevia.com/interpretation.html

[ScottSEA]

Do the little tablet forms of Splenda have the same concentration of maltodextrin?

[Mongpoovian]

I don't know, I've actually never seen those.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

where can you get isopropanol

[Mongpoovian]

It's also known as rubbing alcohol, and is available at most pharmacies and grocery stores.

[Wyle_E]

Note that isopropanol sold as "rubbing alcohol" has lanolin in it. A little sheep fat won't hurt you, but it might interfere with the crystallization.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

can you use 91% isopropanol rubbing alcohol thats all I have

[Mongpoovian]

Yep. The more water, the more maltodextrin that might be carried over, but 91% is pure enough to substantially increase the concentration of sucralose in the final product.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

great ill try it

[drips]

You can also use this: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Salt-Out/

[big-jamie]

what if you used ethanol instead of acetone or isopropanol ?

[Mongpoovian]

Ethanol works great, and it has the benefit of being completely edible.

[mondaymonkey]

as a grad student, I expect you do give me stiociometric ratios etc. How much everclear to sucralose? Other than that, great job!

[Mongpoovian]

According to a datasheet from a chinese supplier, sucralose can make an 11% solution in 100% ethanol at 20 degrees C, and a 26% solution in water at 20 degrees C. Unfortunately, solubility in mixed solvent systems is usually nonlinear, so it's difficult to give an exact estimate for the solubility in a 95% ethanol/water mixture like everclear. It'd be more than 11%, but I can't say by how much. That being said, an 11% solution is still 110 milligrams per milliliter. There's about 12 milligrams of sucralose per splenda packet, so to get it all dissolved you'd only need ~110 microliters of ethanol. But that's a pretty inconvenient amount to work with - it'd just absorb itself into the maltodextrin and be unfilterable. Any workable volume of everclear is going to be more than adequate.

[mondaymonkey]

awesome! so just a few drops of ethanol and we're set... Great instructable btw. But just as an aside why does splenda "cut" their product with maltodextrin. Just pouring a tad of sugar in my coffee would be pretty convenient... maybe I should make something for halloween, substituting stragith sucralose for sugar. Hows that for a sugar high :D Now to procure some ethanol...

[Mongpoovian]

It's really a bulking issue. 12 milligrams of anything is really hard to measure, let alone dispense from a package. By adding the maltodextrin, they keep the same sweetness but make it easier to measure and distribute. This is handy for baking, where the filler insures that one cup of splenda is equivalent to one cup of sugar.

[Mongpoovian]

According to a datasheet from a chinese supplier, sucralose can make an 11% solution in 100% ethanol at 20 degrees C, and a 26% solution in water at 20 degrees C. Unfortunately, solubility in mixed solvent systems is usually nonlinear, so it's difficult to give an exact estimate for the solubility in a 95% ethanol/water mixture like everclear. It would be more than 11%, but I can't say by how much. That being said, an 11% solution is still 110 milligrams per milliliter. There's about 12 milligrams of sucralose per splenda packet, so to get it all dissolved you'd only need ~110 microliters of ethanol. But that's a pretty inconvenient amount to work with - it'd just absorb itself into the maltodextrin and be unfilterable. Any workable volume of everclear is going to be more than adequate.

[CameronSS]

Nice! I didn't realize how easy the process would be. I need to remember to steal Splenda packets next time I'm at a restaurant.

[Mongpoovian]

Remember to leave a nice tip for compensation. :)

[CameronSS]

The server doesn't pay for the Splenda packets...

[The Papier Boy]

Thank you for using Mallinckrodt chemicals

[nanosec]

Hiya, not too long ago I decided I was going to stop paying the outrageously high prices for Splenda (aka Sucralose). Long story short I bought a Kilo of pure Sucralose. (it wasn't cheap btw) But on the bright side, I have enough Sucralose to last me for I'm guessing about 2 -3 years if not more. I mix it with water so I can control how much goes into food (must be refrigerated). At some point when I'm mixing it, if I get the powder on my finger, it's so sweet it turns into bitterness. I was hoping this was an instructable on how to get pure sucralose from sugar. lol

[ragemaxis]

if you did this in a quantified way i.e. with like 30lbs of raw incredient, such that you got more than a few grams of raw product - any number of different one or two-solvent crystallizations would work really well. take two co-miscible solvents that the substance is soluble in - particularily if they have a dramatically different solubility at varied temps. Dissolve substance in solvent A at high temp such that you have a little solid left at the bottom, add a drop of HOT solvent A to make it totally dissolved, drop in a speck of substance (if possible), a couple drops of miscible solvent (if desired) then cover with saran wrap and have cool as slowly as possible. If all goes well you will end up with big nasty evil looking crystals which you can then extract, filter under vacuum, dry out completely and use for your bidding. May not work with this though...

[Mongpoovian]

Interesting idea! If I ever come across that many splenda packets, I'll have to give it a shot!

[ragemaxis]

you can go to bulk barn and buy it by the kg. there is always a solution, just ask your favorite hillbilly buddy, he can tell you how to turn anything into anything if you can handle a little you don't want to know left in it.

[thematthatter]

What was your percent yield for this experiment? And 5 sources of errors.

[Mongpoovian]

I've actually lost the sheet of paper that I wrote the final amount down on. Let this be a lesson to all you budding scientists, use a hard bound notebook! Will this be on the test?

[Peale]

Sucralose has had a lot of bad press regarding it's effects on your health. If you can tolerate it, good for you. It gives me a migraine and stomach cramps. Neat experiment, though!

[Mongpoovian]

Same here, actually! I can't stand the taste of any of the fake sugars, and splenda gives me wicked migraines. This instructable was more the result of curiosity. I wanted to see if it was possible, and I was not disappointed. :)

[Lisa Fla]

Me, too, but everyone insists that "you'll get used to it". No thanks. btw - has anyone, anywhere ever lost a pound [or gram]drinking diet drinks? I don't think so.

[vitruvian8807]

Hmm, I remember that when these packets first came out, they had a warning at the back saying something like: Studies have shown that consuming Splenda may increase your risk of cancer. Weird eh? They don't have them anymore, odd, unless they changed their ingredients or something. I think the stupidest thing people can fall for is sugar free gum. Really? Seriously? Like I consume a substantial amount of calories or sugar from gum that I need sugar free gum.

[Peale]

I think it's less about the calories and more for people concerned with the sugar feeding plaque, which in turn cause cavities.

And don't forget about diabetics, who need to watch *all* their sugar intake.

[WhoTookMudshark]

I'm actually a big fan of sugar-free gum because the flavor lasts SO much longer! :)

[vitruvian8807]

Well, I guess you are right. I'm not a big fan of gum, and I can't see myself chewing something for such a long time. yuck.

[Borat]

VERY NICE! How much?

[Biopyro]

I love it. Pleaase write more instructables!

[Plasmana]

Cool! super-sweet stuff!

[cyclohexane]

Nicely done! i only have a few concerns being a chemist myself.... #1 never eat anything you've made in the lab b/c of all the contaminates on the bench and glassware regardless of how clean you might think it is..... #2 if anyone thinks ingesting methanol or denatured alcohol is ok, well if you enjoy going BLIND or "preserving" your intestines then go for it, methanol gets metabolized by the body into..... formaldehyde (which is embalming fluid). no offense but this is not something i would recommend doing if you are going to taste it! other than that great job!

[Mongpoovian]

Well, I certainly didn't taste the batch that I did in the lab! I do a lot of work with cadmium, and there's no way I'm going to risk getting some of that in me if I can avoid it. However, performed at home with everclear, the extracted product never comes in contact with anything that isn't meant to be consumed in the first place.

[metal-matt]

6....hun...dred t t t TIMES THE SWEETNEESSSSS!!! OMFG! want epic want.... but i guess it wont get you "suger high" seeing as how it hasnt got caffein right? but still that is AWSUM! can i place a order for umm.....a 20 kilo bag? PLZ! haha *drools*

[Mongpoovian]

One of the reasons people like Splenda is that it doesn't cause the "sugar high" associated with the real stuff. Unfortunately (or not) I don't think normal citizens can buy the pure stuff in bulk!

[PKM]

Perhaps 20kg is a lot for a "normal citizen" but I don't see why you couldn't buy a kg or two- say you're buying sweetener for your office kitchen or something. Isolate out a 1kg box of the stuff, get a teaspoon full of pure sweetness, sprinkle on cereal, ???, profit. Alternatively, giving someone your wee beaker full of filtrate in a shot glass at a party should elicit some fun responses...

[Mongpoovian]

I guess I spoke to soon about not being able to buy the pure stuff.

I can't even imagine how brain-meltingly sweet a shot of pure splenda extaract would be...

[blakdragon19]

the reason they put the maltodextrin in is because it is WAY too sweet to take regularly. trust me. try this then lick some of it. you'll see.

[fungus amungus]

Nice!

OK, this is the Instructable that really puts the scientist into the hungry scientist contest. Good one.

Also reminds me of this classic.

[Mongpoovian]

Thanks! I was a huge fan of the talbotron's old blog, so it's an honor to be put in the same category. :)

[mycroftxxx]

Man, I guess I'm the only one who's really interested in the Maltodextrin. The stuff has use in inkjet-based 3D printing. I think, however, that there has to be a cheaper way to get it than isolating out sucralose from Splenda. Great Instructible, though!

[Mongpoovian]

Thanks! I've heard that some bodybuilding supplements are pure corn maltodextrin - I don't know if that's the cheapest way to get it, but it might be worth a look.

[Dorkfish92]

Sweet Ible! (no pun intended) Very educational, and awesome! I'll do this if I can get some Everclear. Where can I get it? 5 stars!

[Mongpoovian]

Everclear is available at pretty much any liquor store, though availability may not be the same in every state. Also, everclear is just a brand name - what you're really looking for is 95% (190 proof) grain alcohol.

[Awsome Fairy]

95% ? hmmmmmm (thinking) does that mean metho would work

[PKM]

Probably, but remember meths is a) toxic b) adulterated with Bitrex or some similar eye-wateringly bitter substance (to stop you drinking it), so what you get out will be an interesting combination of tastes. c) purple

[Mongpoovian]

Using methanol or denatured alcohol would also work. In that case, however, tasting the final product would be unwise - methanol is not a substance to ingest, and denatured alcohol contains powerful bittering agents to discourage just that.

[jeff-o]

I've always wondered what that gadget does. Now I know! Can I get one at Home Outfitters? j/k ;)

[Mongpoovian]

Haha, I wish! They do show up pretty often on eBay, though...

[lawizeg]

Ohh i'm so gonna do this. I love experiments like this, and BTW, nice ible.

[Mongpoovian]

Thanks! I hope it works well for you!

[winman2000]

(removed by author or community request)

[Mongpoovian]

Sorry, can't help you with that! Instructables has many good tutorials regarding both the brewing and distillation of alcohol, but that seems like a lot of work, and it might also be less than legal wherever you are...

[whatsisface]

Awesome project! We don't have all that many chemistry projects here.

[Mongpoovian]

Thanks! Happy to contribute to the community. :)