Overview

Sodium cyclamate (SO-dee-um SYE-kla-mate) is a white, crystal solid or powder with almost no odor and a very sweet taste. Its sweetening power is about 30 times that of table sugar, the standard against which artificial sweeteners are measured. Because of its sweet flavor, sodium cyclamate is used as an artificial sweetener.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Monosodium cyclohexylsulfamic acid; sodium cyclohexanesulfamate

Formula:

C₆H₁₁NHSO₃Na

Elements:

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, sodium

Compound Type:

Organic salt

State:

Solid

Molecular Weight:

201.22 g/mol

Melting Point:

265°C (509°F)

Boiling Point:

Not applicable; decomposes

Solubility:

Soluble in water; insoluble in most organic solvents

The cyclamate family of compounds was discovered in 1937by Michael Sveda (1912–1999), then a graduate student at the University of Illinois. Sveda was working on the development of new drugs to treat fever. The story is that Sveda was smoking while he was working in the...