title: Fast analysis of caffeine in beverages and drugs by paper spray tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: A simple and fast method based on paper spray mass spectrometry for the determination of caffeine in commercial beverages and drugs has been developed; the analyses were carried out in MRM mode, monitoring the transitions m/z 195 → m/z 138 for caffeine and m/z 198 → m/z 140 for the labeled internal standard. To verify the reliability of the proposed approach, a spiked sample (soda drink and paracetamol tablet) with a known amount of caffeine has been prepared and analyzed by PS-MS, providing accuracy values about 100 %; the LOQ and LOD values were calculated at 1.2 and 1.6 μg/mL, respectively. Both beverages and drugs were also analyzed with the classic analytical method based on LC-UV measurements, showing consistent results between the two approaches, thus confirming the reliability of the developed ambient MS determination. Graphical Abstract The assay of caffeine by paper mass spectrometry.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taverna
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Donna
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartella
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sindona
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci Cubo 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy. fmazzotti@unical.it.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mazzotti
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis*; D002110:Caffeine / Q000032:analysis*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D012015:Reference Standards; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D002110:Caffeine
keywords: Caffeine; Mass spectrometry; Multiple reaction monitoring; Paper spray; Quantitative assay