Evaluation of the anthropogenic input of caffeine in surface waters of the north and center of Portugal by ELISA

Carla Patrícia Silva; Diana L D Lima; Rudolf J Schneider; Marta Otero; Valdemar I Esteves

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.120

Evaluation of the anthropogenic input of caffeine in surface waters of the north and center of Portugal by ELISA

Sci Total Environ. 2014 May 1:479-480:227-32. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.120. Epub 2014 Feb 20.

Authors

Carla Patrícia Silva¹, Diana L D Lima², Rudolf J Schneider³, Marta Otero⁴, Valdemar I Esteves⁵

Affiliations

¹ CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
² CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Complementary Sciences, Superior School of Health Technology of Coimbra, Rua 5 de Outubro, S. Martinho do Bispo, Apartado 7006, 3040-854 Coimbra, Portugal.
³ BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Reference Materials, Richard-Willstaetter-Str. 11, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.
⁴ CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Applied Chemistry and Physics, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24071 León, Spain.
⁵ CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Electronic address: valdemar@ua.pt.

PMID: 24561298
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.120

Abstract

This study comprises the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantification of caffeine in complex aqueous matrices without any sample clean-up procedure. Salinity and dissolved organic matter were selected as potential interfering agents. The addition of a sample buffer containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) prior to the sample was found to decrease the influence of those interfering agents. The working range of the developed method was 0.1-100 μg L(-1). Quantification of caffeine was possible in 43 out of 51 real aqueous samples, at values between <LOD and 15 μg L(-1). Results correlate well with those obtained by LC-MS/MS. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study dealing with the quantification of caffeine in Portugal's surface waters.

Keywords: Anthropogenic markers; Caffeine; ELISA; Surface water.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Caffeine / analysis*
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Fresh Water / chemistry*
Portugal
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Caffeine