Posters
Academic Level (Author 1)
Medical Student
Discipline Track
Biomedical Science
Abstract
Background Caffeine is a stimulant that is often found in tea and coffee. Sometimes, when a person drinks caffeine in excess or too late into the day, there is a disturbance to the sleep cycle. A workaround would be to find out how much caffeine is in these drinks through caffeine extraction. Therefore, consumers can have an accurate awareness of the amount of caffeine they are consuming.
Methods Caffeine extraction is performed to determine the levels present in green tea. If the experiment does work, then the methodology can be used to find the amount of caffeine in other drinks and products. Green tea powder, sodium carbonate, and distilled water were used to create a mixture. Vacuum filtration and boiling techniques were used to extract the powder further. Then, a separating funnel was used to obtain the organic portion. Lastly, melting point and IR spectroscopy were performed for error analysis.
Results By performing caffeine extraction from green tea (Kirkland brand), it was determined that 9.0-15.0 mg of caffeine can be extracted from a tea packet. This was found through the process of filtering the tea and adding diethyl ether multiple times. After multiple trials, determinations can be made regarding consistency with the methods and the purity levels based on melting point and the IR spectrum obtained. Possible errors can be attributed to other ingredients in the tea packet contaminating the sample and manufacturing variation if multiple trials were to be completed. These errors would reduce accuracy in the IR spectrum and melting points and lower caffeine extraction yield.
Conclusions The broader impact of this lab is to be able to provide a way for the average consumer to test how much caffeine is in their purchased product, which is important because some individuals are subject to caffeine addiction. Overall, we gained beneficial knowledge regarding the opportunities to maximize caffeine extraction from green tea powder, which can be modified for different tea sources in future research endeavors with the use of sodium carbonate and diethyl ether.
Presentation Type
Poster
Recommended Citation
Pham, Michelle M.; Yang, Ethan; and Wostenberg, Christopher, "Detection of Caffeine for Consumers Utilizing Infrared Spectroscopy" (2024). Research Colloquium. 5.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/colloquium/2023/posters/5
Included in
Detection of Caffeine for Consumers Utilizing Infrared Spectroscopy
Background Caffeine is a stimulant that is often found in tea and coffee. Sometimes, when a person drinks caffeine in excess or too late into the day, there is a disturbance to the sleep cycle. A workaround would be to find out how much caffeine is in these drinks through caffeine extraction. Therefore, consumers can have an accurate awareness of the amount of caffeine they are consuming.
Methods Caffeine extraction is performed to determine the levels present in green tea. If the experiment does work, then the methodology can be used to find the amount of caffeine in other drinks and products. Green tea powder, sodium carbonate, and distilled water were used to create a mixture. Vacuum filtration and boiling techniques were used to extract the powder further. Then, a separating funnel was used to obtain the organic portion. Lastly, melting point and IR spectroscopy were performed for error analysis.
Results By performing caffeine extraction from green tea (Kirkland brand), it was determined that 9.0-15.0 mg of caffeine can be extracted from a tea packet. This was found through the process of filtering the tea and adding diethyl ether multiple times. After multiple trials, determinations can be made regarding consistency with the methods and the purity levels based on melting point and the IR spectrum obtained. Possible errors can be attributed to other ingredients in the tea packet contaminating the sample and manufacturing variation if multiple trials were to be completed. These errors would reduce accuracy in the IR spectrum and melting points and lower caffeine extraction yield.
Conclusions The broader impact of this lab is to be able to provide a way for the average consumer to test how much caffeine is in their purchased product, which is important because some individuals are subject to caffeine addiction. Overall, we gained beneficial knowledge regarding the opportunities to maximize caffeine extraction from green tea powder, which can be modified for different tea sources in future research endeavors with the use of sodium carbonate and diethyl ether.