By Dylan Becker, Rae Saucedo, Daniel Wheeler

Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith

Abstract

With how prevalent energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages have become, especially with college students, it is more important now than ever to quantify caffeine content in the beverages we drink everyday. An excess of caffeine can cause digestive issues, heart issues, and sleep issues. In this study, we determined and compared the caffeine concentrations of Blueberry Watermelon Karma Energy Water and Monster Green Energy Drink using Gas-Chromatography Mass-Spectroscopy. A calibration curve was produced from 5 caffeine standards. A Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 SE instrument was used for all measurements of standards and unknown samples. We applied the equation of the calibration curve to our experimental values for the retention time of each of our beverages to find the caffeine content. These values were compared to the values listed on the nutritional label to verify accuracy and then compared with each other to assess the differing contents of caffeine in the Energy Drink options.