Caffeine test strips

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted May 11th 2006 @ 7:08PM

If you're concerned about caffeine in your diet, help may be on the way in the form of a dipstick-style caffeine test strip. Chemists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that the product would be the first of its kind, according to a story on FoodNavigator. The test strips would be treated with an antibody, cloned from one found in llama blood, that changes color when it comes in contact with caffeine. The strips wouldn't tell how much caffeine a drink had, only whether or not it was present. The llama blood antibody was apparently chosen because it worked well at high temperatures.

Filed under: Science, Drink Recipes
Tags: caffeine, coffee, content, dipstick, llama blood, soda, soft drinks, st. louis, strip, test, testing for caffeine, TestingForCaffeine, washington university school of medicine

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-11-2006 @7:25PM Mike said... I've never been fond of the flavor taint that paper coffee filters add to the coffee. I'm not sure that "Llama blood antibodies" are going to be an enhancement.

I am curious to see what a Llama with too much caffeine looks like though.
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11-19-2008 @10:36AM Just Roasted Coffees said... This is the first time I heard of this! :) Of course coffee lovers are not typically worried about too much caffeine, but I do understand that some people have a low tolerance to it. Read More... http://www.justroasted.com
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11-19-2008 @10:39AM Just Roasted Coffees said... Oh, please visit my blog and take advantage of our "free" widgits! http://blog.myspace.com/blog/rss.cfm?friendID=429308153
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11-20-2007 @4:01PM joepergo said... where do you buy these strips
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12-18-2007 @2:32PM maggie said... Please tell me where I can buy these strips. I ended up in the hospital with supraventricular tachyacardia because of coffee that was labeled incorrectly.
maggie
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