By Jenna Compton-Padua, Henry Gudiel Vargas

Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith

Abstract

Caffeine, a naturally occurring stimulant for the central nervous system, is widely consumed to enhance alertness, mood, and physical performance. Caffeine is a major component is energy drinks, especially the Alani Dream Float energy drink which corporates 200mg. There has been a significant increase in the consumption of energy drinks among individuals aged 18 to 34. Consequently, the risk of caffeine overdose has also risen considerably compared to the past. Accurate determination of caffeine
content is therefore essential for ensuring consumer safety and verifying product labeling which is the main purpose of this experiment. This study compares High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Fluorescence Spectroscopy using previously collected experimental data to evaluate their effectiveness in quantifying caffeine in energy drink samples. HPLC separates components based on interactions with the stationary and mobile phases, allowing for precise identification and quantification of caffeine in complex mixtures. In contrast, fluorescence spectroscopy detects emitted light from excited caffeine molecules, providing a highly sensitive method of analysis. Calibration curves generated from standard caffeine solutions in prior experiments were used to determine the concentration of caffeine in the energy drink sample. Overall, both techniques were effective for caffeine analysis, but HPLC offered greater reliability for complex samples, while fluorescence provided enhanced
sensitivity. These findings highlight the importance of method selection in ensuring accurate caffeine quantification and promoting safer energy drink consumption. Future work will expand HPLC analysis to other energy drink components and optimize fluorescence spectroscopy for caffeine detection. These methods will also be applied to other beverages to evaluate accuracy and consistency.