If you’ve ever wondered whether your favorite coffee, tea or
soda contains caffeine — despite its decaf label or the absence
of caffeine on the ingredient list — then you may soon be able
to test the beverage yourself. Chemists at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing a quick,
convenient "dipstick" test that they say could represent the
first home testing kit to detect the common stimulant, which can
cause insomnia and make you jittery. Their study will appear in
the June 1 print issue of the American Chemical Society’s
Analytical Chemistry. "We envisioned that a simple method to
measure caffeine, even in hot beverages, such as coffee, would
be of value to individuals and institutions wanting to verify
the absence of caffeine," says study leader Jack H. Ladenson,
Ph.D., a chemist at the university. "This will greatly assist
individuals who wish to avoid caffeine." Ladenson hopes to
develop a simple caffeine test in which test strips that are
treated with a specific antibody will