Llamas could supply coffee drinkers with "caffeine dipstick"

Believe it or not, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a quick test to detect the presence of caffeine in a beverage, using antibodies from camels and llamas.

While the llama antibody survived well even at temperatures of 90 degrees Celsius - as hot as a normal cup of coffee or tea - the same antibodies in mice are destroyed at temperatures of about 70 degrees Celsius.

The key to the discovery was the realization that the antibodies created when camels and llamas ingested caffeine were heat resistant, and therefore weren't destroyed when immersed in hot liquids like coffee. That heat resistance is fairly unique, according to the researchers.

Initially, the caffeine test method used blood extracted from the animals after they were given injections of a protein that stimulated the immune system to produce the antibodies.

Since the prospect of keeping a llama to check your morning latte wasn't likely to be appealing to consumers, researchers sequenced and artificially recreated the antibodies in the lab.

Results of the tests revealed accuracy that compared favourably to high-tech, expensive lab testing, but at a fraction of the cost.

The next step, the researchers say, is to develop a convenient dipstick-type tester that consumers will be able to carry with them.

The easy-to-use tester would be of benefit for those highly sensitive to the effects of caffeine or those taking medications with which caffeine may have an adverse interaction.

The findings of the scientists' study will appear in the June 1 issue of the American Chemical Society's journal Analytical Chemistry.