Transcript Caffeine Analysis of Excedrin and Excedrin PM

Caffeine Analysis of
Excedrin and Excedrin PM
Robin Roland
Introduction



The purpose of this experiment
was to analyze the caffeine content
in regular Excedrin, and to
determine if any caffeine was
present in Excedrin PM.
Both qualitative and quantitative
analyses were used.
Other materials in the drugs were
examined as well.
Methods



Two techniques were used: Thin
Layer Chromatography and Gas
Chromatogram Mass
Spectrometry.
Thin Layer Chromatography, or
TLC, is a qualitative test that
confirms the presence or absence
of a compound.
GCMS is a quantitative technique
that can tell you what compounds
are present in a substance, and
the relative amounts of these
substances.
Background
Information



Excedrin and Excedrin PM are
both analgesics. Analgesics are
defined as substances that relieve
pain. The most common one is
aspirin, and acetaminophen is the
analgesic found in Excedrin
brands.
Caffeine is often added to
painkillers to counteract the
sedative effects of the analgesic,
and the PM medications are
assumed to have no caffeine.
Binding materials such as starch,
microcrystalline cellulose, or silica
gel are often added.
Procedure



First, 1% solutions of Excedrin,
Excedrin PM, and pure caffeine
were made. The solutions were
made with ethanol.
The two Excedrin solutions were
filtered with a Buchner funnel to
remove any of the insoluble binder.
Pure ethyl acetate was used as a
solvent for the chromatogram, and
the plate was examined under UV
light to see the spots.

The next portion of the experiment
involved the GCMS. 10 microliters
of the Excedrin and Excedrin PM
solutions were placed in the
chromatogram for evaluation.
Results


Both the TLC and the GCMS indicated
that there was no caffeine present in
the Excedrin PM. There was caffeine
added to the Excedrin.
The relative amounts of the
compounds in analgesics were
determined by integration of the area
under the curve of the GCMS results.
The GCMS results showed that there
was three times as much caffeine in
the ExcedrinPM as in the regular
Excedrin. There is approximately 3.6
times as much acetaminophen as
caffeine in the regular Excedrin.