Determination of cannabinoids in cannabis products using liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry.
A method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of five cannabinoids, viz. cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidiol acid (CBD-COOH), cannabinol (CBN), delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and 3'-carboxy-delta9-all-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) in cannabis products. The cannabinoids were extracted from the grinded cannabis samples with a mixture of methanol-chloroform and analysed using liquid chromatography with ion-trap-mass-spectrometry (LC-IT-MSn). For quantification the two most abundant diagnostic MS-MS ions of the analyte in the sample and external standard were monitored. For confirmation purposes the EU criteria as described in Commission Decision 2002/657/EC were followed. Fully satisfactory results were obtained, that is, unequivocal confirmation according to the most stringent EU criteria was possible. The limits of quantification were 0.1 g/kg for CBD, 0.04 g/kg for CBD-COOH, 0.03 g/kg for CBN, 0.28 g/kg for THC and 9.9 g/kg for THC-COOH. The repeatabilities, defined by R.S.D., were 2% for CBN, THC and THC-COOH at the concentration levels of respectively 0.023, 3.3 and 113 g/kg and 5% for CBD-COOH at the level of 0.34 g/kg (n = 6).
Stolker
A A M
AA
TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Department Analytical Sciences, 3700 AJ Zeist, The Netherlands.
van Schoonhoven
J
J
de Vries
A J
AJ
Bobeldijk-Pastorova
I
I
Vaes
W H J
WH
van den Berg
R
R
D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000032:analysis*; D002188:Cannabis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D002186:Cannabinoids