The determination of the capsaicin content of a sample solution is critical in the quality control of commercially available pepper sprays because the receiver of the pepper spray could be rendered terminally disabled by the toxic capsaicin if its concentration is too high. The concentration of the capsaicin content of sample pepper spray solutions was determined by voltammetric methods using a potentiostat, which provides certain benefits over the traditional HPLC methods of analysis such as reduced cost and decreased total time of analysis. The preliminary results from this investigation show that capsaincin is an electrochemically active molecule that can be optimized for electrochemical analysis. The pH and the concentration of the sodium acetate buffer used in the analysis was optimized. Voltammetric analysis optimization of capsaicin content of commercial pepper sprays can make the quality control step of this product more efficient in cost and time.

Determining the capsaicinoid content of commercial pepper sprays by voltammetry

245th National Meeting (2013)

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