May 2006

Home test kit finds 'hidden' caffeine

If you’ve ever wondered whether your favorite coffee, tea, or soda contains caffeine — despite its decaf label or the absence of caffeine on the ingredient list — then you may soon be able to test the beverage yourself. Chemists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing a quick, convenient “dipstick” test that they say could represent the first home testing kit to detect the common stimulant, which can cause insomnia and make you jittery. Their study will appear in the June 1 print issue of the American Chemical Society’s Analytical Chemistry.

The new test will be designed to be qualitative only: It allows a person to quickly determine whether caffeine is present, but does not indicate the exact amount or concentration of caffeine. In preliminary tests using coffee and cola, an experimental version of the test effectively distinguished caffeinated versions of these products from their decaf counterparts.

The researcher adds that he does not know when the test will be available to consumers or at what price. Further refinements are ongoing.

Source: EurekAlert, www.eurekalert.org

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