Abstract
A simple and highly sensitive method for the determination of caffeine in energy beverages was developed and validated. Sample preparation utilizing solid-phase extraction (SPE) was simple and reliable. Separation by isocratic ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with a reversed-phase C18 column was performed within 6 min. The use of SPE with UPLC coupled with electrospray ionization-multiple tandem mass spectrometry detection (ESI-MSn) was accurate, reproducible, and validated for the determination of caffeine in energy drink matrices. The limit of quantification for caffeine was approximately 2.1 ng mL-1. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 4%, and the accuracy of the measurements was between 85.1% and 93.2%. Results for caffeine concentrations in eighteen beverages were compared to the values on the labels. This paper describes the first use of the UPLC-ESI-ion trap MSn technique for quality-control purposes of caffeine present in energy drinks.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1852-1861 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Analytical Letters |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 Jul |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Caffeine
- Energy drinks
- HPLC-ESI-MS/MS
- Solid-phase extraction
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Spectroscopy
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Biochemistry, medical
- Electrochemistry