Quantitative detection of caffeine in beverages using flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging and performance evaluation of different thin-layer chromatography plates as sample substrates

Ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS) is widely used as a rapid screening tool of samples in their native state without sample preparation. While analysis times are much less than 1 min per sample, one challenge of ADI-MS is the possibility to perform quantitative analysis of analytes in complex matrices. Typically, the goal is to probe a variety of different analytes in a complex matrix from a solid, liquid, or otherwise uncharacterized surface in the open air in front of the MS inlet. In this study, it is demonstrated that a carefully selected surface for analyte spot sampling and co-deposited isotopically labeled standards both significantly improve the capabilities of flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) high-resolution (HR) MS for direct quantitative analysis. Specifically, a systematic study of different surfaces (glass, steel mesh, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) stationary phases including silica, reversed-phase (RP)-modified silica, and cyano (CN)-modified silica) and their suitability for spot sampling with FAPA-MS was performed. A set of different caffeine-containing standards and beverages (Red Bull, Coca-Cola, coffee, and black tea) was deposited on the surfaces and direct FAPA-HR-MS analysis of caffeine was performed using internal calibration with co-deposited (13)C(3)-caffeine. For TLC surfaces, it was demonstrated that quantitative results could be achieved with the matrix and concomitants present and that a preceding chromatographic separation was not mandatory for this application. In addition, the use of a CN-HPTLC surface resulted in a significantly more intense caffeine signal in the beverage samples compared to the other surfaces studied, with the highest increase compared to the silica (200-fold higher) and the lowest increase compared to the steel mesh (30-fold higher). The utilization of TLC-based surfaces as sample carriers is considered an attractive tool in the ADI-MS toolbox for fast and efficient mass spectrometric investigations of complex samples without time-consuming sample preparation. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00216-022-04045-z.