Abstract: The aim of my thesis was to determinate the sugar in buyable soft drinks with spectrophotometry. The measurements were performed at 580 nm with molecular absorption spectrophotometry method. To determine results I used the method of calibration curve. Prior to measurements both the calibration curve and all the samples had to be prepared. HCl, NaOH and DNSA were used as reagents. Results represented contents of sugar, assessed in every sample with standard deviation, and the content of sugar in 100 mL in every sample. The results were compared with the declared value of sugar in the soft-drink samples.
The lowest content of sugar or sucrose was expected in flavoured waters, and the highest in carbonated soft drinks. My empirical assessment confirmed this hypothesis. The lowest content of sugar was in the sample of a flavoured water (Vitamin activity-apple & raspberry, JANA (0,5 L)) and it amounted to 2,63 g per 100 mL, the average of two measurements, compared to the declared content of 2,9 g per 100 mL. The sample with the highest sugar content was Bitter lemon, SCHWEPPES (0,5 L) and it amounted to 14,5 g per 100 mL (the average of two measurements), while the declared sugar content is 13,3 g per 100 mL. My results on sugar content, determined with a spectrophotometry are considerably aligned with the declared sugar content for the used samples.
The method I applied for the empirical part of my thesis allows high reproducibility of measurements, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to ensure identical experimental conditions for all measurements. Given the sensitivity of DNSA it is important that all samples and calibration curves are assessed for absorbance at the same time after adding DNSA. Otherwise this can be one of the key reasons for the results to deviate from the expected values, or for low reproducibility.
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