Northern Michigan University and Shimadzu Partner to Support Medicinal Plant Chemistry Program
NMU and SSI collaborated to establish the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medicinal Plant Sciences for NMU’s undergraduate degree program in medicinal plant chemistry.
NMU and SSI collaborated to establish the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medicinal Plant Sciences for NMU’s undergraduate degree program in medicinal plant chemistry.
A couple years ago, Northern Michigan University (NMU) established the first undergraduate degree program in medicinal plant chemistry, providing students an opportunity to conduct research on cannabis, herbal extracts, and other botanicals. Now, in collaboration with Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI), NMU established the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medicinal Plant Sciences to give students and faculty access to cutting-edge equipment and technology for medicinal plant research within the chemistry program.
“Having access to the same top-caliber equipment used in the industry gives our students a real advantage heading into their careers,” said Fritz Erickson, president of NMU.
As part of the Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research and Quality of Life (SPARQ) program, SSI gave an in-kind donation of instrumentation for the laboratory and a framework for research collaborations and internships. The Shimadzu instruments include multiple mass spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatography (GC-MS and LC-MS/MS), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). These instruments perform cannabis and hemp potency testing, terpene profiling, and contaminate testing for pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals, and mycotoxins/aflatoxins.
“The serious education and research on medicinal plants undertaken in this unique undergraduate program will help to overturn the misinformation and stigma associated with hemp and cannabis as it applies to human and environmental health,” said Scott Kuzdzal, vice president of marketing, SSI. “NMU students in the medicinal plant chemistry program now have access to the same level and quality of analytical instrumentation that they will encounter after graduation in commercial, academic, and medical research labs.”
Original Source: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments
Work Smarter, Not Harder: How ASTM Standards for Cannabinoids Improve Your Operations
December 3rd 2024ASTM Standards D8557-24 and D8556-24, provide unified guidelines for GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and QMS (Quality Management Systems) in cannabis operations. These standards enhance compliance, product safety, and operational consistency across the industry for the benefit of operators, consumers, and other stakeholders in the industry.
Ep 24, Part I: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Khan
November 21st 2024Evan Friedmann interviews Yasha Khan, co-founder of MCR Labs, about his journey into the cannabis industry and his efforts to promote transparency and integrity in laboratory practices. Yasha discusses the origins of MCR Labs, which began in Massachusetts to meet the needs of the soon-to-be legal medical cannabis market. He explains the challenges faced, including result manipulation by labs and the impact on public health. Yasha's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) project aimed to gather testing data from 37 states, revealed significant discrepancies in potency and mold results. Despite some states' reluctance to share data, Yasha has made much of this data public, leading to collaborative research and publications on various aspects of cannabis testing.
Ep 23, Part III: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 24th 2024In Part III of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, to examine the complexities of sampling in the cannabis industry, emphasizing the need for proper sampling plans, and methods.
