TY - JOUR
T1 - Determination of phytocannabinoids in cannabis samples by ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector analysis
AU - Correia, Beatriz
AU - Ahmad, Samir Marcos
AU - Quintas, Alexandre
N1 - Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023/8/30
Y1 - 2023/8/30
N2 - The characterisation of cannabis plants, especially the determination of specific phytocannabinoids, has gained enormous importance in the last decade, mainly due to the recent changes in cannabis control in several countries or states. This is particularly relevant for the forensic, medical or recreative industry to have a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable methodology to identify and quantify phytocannabinoids. Furthermore, spiking cannabis products with Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a contemporary trend that demands improving or replacing current methods to include this cannabinoid. The current study presents an ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) methodology to identify and quantify Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, cannabidiol, cannabinol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid and cannabidiolic acid in cannabis products. The herbal samples were extracted with ethanol:acetonitrile (50:50, v:v) by ultrasonication using only 50 mg of sample. The plant oils were diluted in ethanol. The optimised procedure allowed ≈100% extraction efficiency of the target cannabinoids. The validation assays showed that the method is linear (R2 > 0.997), selective, sensitive, precise and accurate, with suitable limits of detection (0.125–0.250 µg mL−1) and quantification (0.500 µg mL−1). The method was successfully applied to cannabis samples, demonstrating its suitability for routine analyses. This contribution follows the current demand for fast and straightforward analysis services of this plant and its derivatives, using small amounts of sample. The present study compares very favourably against other works, particularly in regards to the extraction efficiency, speed of the overall procedure, method sensitivity, and ability to monitor Δ8-THC spiked samples using a novel solvent mixture.
AB - The characterisation of cannabis plants, especially the determination of specific phytocannabinoids, has gained enormous importance in the last decade, mainly due to the recent changes in cannabis control in several countries or states. This is particularly relevant for the forensic, medical or recreative industry to have a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable methodology to identify and quantify phytocannabinoids. Furthermore, spiking cannabis products with Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a contemporary trend that demands improving or replacing current methods to include this cannabinoid. The current study presents an ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) methodology to identify and quantify Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, cannabidiol, cannabinol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid and cannabidiolic acid in cannabis products. The herbal samples were extracted with ethanol:acetonitrile (50:50, v:v) by ultrasonication using only 50 mg of sample. The plant oils were diluted in ethanol. The optimised procedure allowed ≈100% extraction efficiency of the target cannabinoids. The validation assays showed that the method is linear (R2 > 0.997), selective, sensitive, precise and accurate, with suitable limits of detection (0.125–0.250 µg mL−1) and quantification (0.500 µg mL−1). The method was successfully applied to cannabis samples, demonstrating its suitability for routine analyses. This contribution follows the current demand for fast and straightforward analysis services of this plant and its derivatives, using small amounts of sample. The present study compares very favourably against other works, particularly in regards to the extraction efficiency, speed of the overall procedure, method sensitivity, and ability to monitor Δ8-THC spiked samples using a novel solvent mixture.
KW - Cannabis
KW - Determination and quantification of phytocannabinoids
KW - HPLC-DAD
KW - Method development and validation
KW - THC
KW - Cannabinol/analysis
KW - Cannabis/chemistry
KW - Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods
KW - Dronabinol/analysis
KW - Plant Extracts/chemistry
KW - Cannabidiol/analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165067718&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464191
DO - 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464191
M3 - Article
C2 - 37454455
AN - SCOPUS:85165067718
SN - 0021-9673
VL - 1705
SP - 464191
JO - Journal of Chromatography A
JF - Journal of Chromatography A
M1 - 464191
ER -