Jie Sang , Yao Zhang , Jun Sang , Cui-qin Li
Development and validation of a green HILIC-ELSD method for the determination of caffeine and taurine in energy drinks
Co-Authors
Article Reviewed By:
Petr %C4%8Cesla(Petr.Cesla@upce.cz)
Carla Fernandes(cfernandes@ff.up.pt)
Christian Steuer(christian.steuer@pharma.ethz.ch)
Masakiyo Sakaguchi(masa-s@md.okayama-u.ac.jp)
Citation
Article Under Review
Abstract
In the present study, a green HILIC (hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography)-ELSD (evaporative light-scattering detection) method was developed and validated for the determination of caffeine and taurine in energy drinks using ethanol and water as mobile phases and without derivatization steps. The effects of drift tube temperature on the peak area and signal-to-noise ratio of caffeine and taurine were investigated, and the optimal parameter was determined as 55 °C. Under the optimal elution program, caffeine and taurine can be analysed within 14 min. The calibration curves of caffeine (R2 = 0.9996) and taurine (R2 = 0.9976) were calculated and revealed a good linearity. The limit of detection of caffeine and taurine were 0.0044 mg/mL and 0.0055 mg/mL, and the limit of quantification were 0.0146 mg/mL and 0.0183 mg/mL, respectively. Method validation was also performed in terms of precision, repeatability, stability and recovery. The relative standard deviation (%) of intra- and inter-day precision, repeatability and stability were 0.95, 1.81, 2.15 and 1.61 for caffeine and 0.53, 0.46, 0.65 and 0.36 for taurine, respectively. The recovery of caffeine (101.72 ± 2.08%) and taurine (100.28 ± 1.60%) were at an acceptable level. Additionally, the developed HILIC-ELSD method was applied to determine the content of caffeine and taurine in commercial energy drinks. Therefore, the developed HILIC-ELSD method was work-safe and efficient and has great potential for simultaneous analysis of caffeine and taurine in food industry.