title: Long-term stability of cannabinoids in oral fluid after controlled cannabis administration.
abstract: Cannabinoid stability in oral fluid (OF) is important for assuring accurate results since OF has become a valid alternative matrix of choice for drug testing. We previously published OF cannabinoid stability studies using Quantisal™, Oral-Eze®, and StatSure™ devices stored at room temperature for 1 week, 4 °C for up to 4 weeks, and at -20 °C up to 24 weeks. Extending refrigerated stability up to 3 months would be helpful for clinical and forensic testing, for re-analysis of OF samples and for batching research analyses. Individual authentic OF pools were prepared after controlled smoking of a 6.9% ∆9-tetrahydracannabinol cannabis cigarette; the Quantisal™ device was utilized for OF collection. Fifteen healthy volunteers participated in the Institutional Review Board-approved study. Stability for THC, 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), ∆9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabigerol (CBG) were determined after storage at 4 °C for 1, 2, and 3 months. Results within ±20% of baseline concentrations were considered stable. All analytes were stable for up to 2 months at 4 °C for all participants with positive baseline concentrations. Baseline concentrations were highly variable. In total, THC, THCCOOH, THCV, CBD, and CBG were stable for 3 months at 4 °C for pooled positive specimens from 14 of 15, 8 of 9, 7 of 8, 8 of 9, and 9 of 10 participants, respectively. In conclusion, Quantisal™-collected OF specimens should be stored at 4 °C for no more than two months to assure accurate THC, THCCOOH, THCV, CBD, and CBG quantitative results; only one participant's OF was unstable at three months. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Karl B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Scheidweiler
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Madeleine J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Swortwood
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sempio
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.|University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201.
authors.forename: Marilyn A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Huestis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002185:Cannabidiol / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002188:Cannabis / Q000737:chemistry; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D004355:Drug Stability; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000378:metabolism; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D002185:Cannabidiol; C016780:11-nor-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid; D013759:Dronabinol; C037036:cannabigerol
keywords: cannabinoid; liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; oral fluid; stability