Cannabinoids

A primary impediment to cannabinoid research is the fact that materials possessing psychoactive Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are considered Schedule I drugs as defined in the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. An alternative source of cannabinoids may be found in hemp oil extracts. Hemp contains a low percentage of THC by weight but relatively high amounts of nonpsychoactive cannabinoids. The liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) method presented herein allows for the accurate, precise, and robust speciation, profiling, and quantification of cannabinoids in hemp oil extracts and commercial cannabinoid products for research and development laboratories. The method was determined to chromatographically separate 11 cannabinoids including differentiation of Δ8-tetrahdrocannabinol and THC with excellent linear dynamic range, specificity, and sensitivity.

Compact mass spectrometry, in combination with suitable sample introduction techniques-such as the atmospheric solids analysis probe, thin-layer chromatography, and classical liquid chromatography techniques-can be used effectively for the detection and quantification of cannabinoids and pesticides in cannabis-related material and contraband.

An investigation of C18 and phenyl-hexyl column chemistries for definitive identification of 13 synthetic cannabinoid metabolites in patient samples.

An interview with Jeff Dahl, an applications scientist at Shimadzu Scientific Instruments; Joe Konschnik, a business development manager for the food and beverage market at Restek Corporation; Andre Santos, the Americas market development manager at Agilent Technologies; Alicia D. Stell, the CEM product development lab manager; and Xiaoyan Wang, a research scientist at UCT

QuEChERS is introduced to the discipline of forensic testing as a viable method for the extraction of pesticides and cannabinoids in various complex sample matrices

Other techniques for monitoring cannabinoids, such as GC–MS and LC–MS, are limited to screening known species and are therefore always one step behind the designer drug market-where new, previously unknown variations of analogs of cannabinoids are constantly being synthesized. The method presented here addresses this problem by providing accurate masses for all detected species, thus allowing postanalysis identification of initially untargeted compounds.

An interview with Cindy Orser

An interview with Sue Sisley

An interview with Montel Williams

An interview with Uma Dhanabalan

An interview with Jeffrey C. Raber

Efficient synthesis of complex cannabinoids is possible while avoiding marijuana cultivation.

David Fulper, PhD, director of technology support at Catalent, shares insights on the challenges and opportunities for cannabis-based therapeutics.