Synthesis and FTIR Analysis of Caffeine and Quinine in Sodium Chloride Powder

Adulterants are over-the-counter medications that are added to illicit drugs to increase quantity but decreases the purity. Caffeine is a popular additive in illicit drugs like methamphetamines, amphetamine, and cocaine. It is found in many products and regularly consumed throughout the world due to its psychostimulant properties. Sodium chloride was chosen due to the minimal absorbance peaks shown in an IR spectrograph so that the peaks of caffeine are shown clearer. Grinding the mixture of caffeine and sodium chloride allows for even mixture and similar physical nature as an evidentiary sample that is collected from a crime scene. Analysis through FTIR allows for minimal use of the mixture. The purpose of this study is to determine if the intensity of the FTIR peaks will increase as the caffeine quantity increases when added to larger quantity of sodium chloride.