Fast, Low-Solvent Analysis of Cannabinoids Increases Lab Productivity and Decreases Solvent Costs

• Leaner, greener method uses only 3 mL of acetonitrile per run.
• 10-min analysis of 19 cannabinoids increases sample throughput and profiling capability.
• Simple, isocratic method is more transferable between systems and labs than gradient methods.

In the highly competitive landscape of cannabis testing, labs that can expand services while decreasing costs have a strong advantage. Potency testing and cannabinoid profiling are high-demand tests that can be improved by increasing speed, expanding analyte lists, and reducing costs. The low-solvent analysis of cannabinoids shown here accomplishes this by using a Raptor ARC-18 column to fully resolve 19 cannabinoids in a fast 10-minute analysis that uses only 3 mL of acetonitrile per run. The wide range of cannabinoids analyzed ensures more accurate potency results and provides more comprehensive data for product branding and identification. Reducing expensive mobile phase organic solvent consumption significantly lowers the cost per sample and also reduces solvent waste and its associated disposal costs. In addition, this low-solvent analysis of cannabinoids uses a simple isocratic mobile phase, so it is more easily transferrable between instruments compared to more complex methods that incorporate mobile phase gradients or additives.

LC_GN0601

Peaks

	Peaks	tR (min)
1.	Cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA)	1.570
2.	Cannabidivarin (CBDV)	1.728
3.	Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA)	2.159
4.	Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA)	2.304
5.	Cannabigerol (CBG)	2.411
6.	Cannabidiol (CBD)	2.537
7.	Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)	2.770
8.	Cannabichromevarin (CBCV)	3.355
9.	Tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA)	3.507

	Peaks	tR (min)
10.	Cannabinol (CBN)	3.756
11.	Cannabinolic acid (CBNA)	4.471
12.	Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC)	4.706
13.	Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC)	4.865
14.	Cannabicyclol (CBL)	5.594
15.	Cannabichromene (CBC)	5.878
16.	Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A)	6.213
17.	Cannabichromenic acid (CBCA)	6.965
18.	Cannabicyclolic acid (CBLA)	7.370
19.	Cannabicitran (CBT)	9.359

Conditions

Column	Raptor ARC-18 (cat.# 9314A62)
Dimensions:	150 mm x 2.1 mm ID
Particle Size:	2.7 µm
Pore Size:	90 Å
Guard Column:	Raptor ARC-18 EXP guard column cartridge 2.7 µm (cat.# 9314A0252)
Temp.:	30 °C
Standard/Sample
	Cannabidivarin (CBDV) (cat.# 34123)
	Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) (cat.# 34094)
	Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA)
	Cannabigerol (CBG) (cat.# 34091)
	Cannabidiol (CBD) (cat.# 34011)
	Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) (cat.# 34100)
	Cannabinol (CBN) (cat.# 34010)
	d9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9-THC) (cat.# 34067)
	d8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d8-THC) (cat.# 34090)
	Cannabichromene (CBC) (cat.# 34092)
	d9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A)
	Cannabicyclol (CBL) (cat.# 34130)
	Compounds not present in these mixes were obtained separately.
Diluent:	Methanol
Conc.:	50 ppm
Inj. Vol.:	2 µL
Mobile Phase
A:	Water, 5 mM ammonium formate, 0.1% formic acid
B:	Acetonitrile, 0.1% formic acid
	Time (min) Flow (mL/min) %A %B 0.00 0.4 25 75 10.00 0.4 25 75

Detector	UV/Vis @ 228 nm
Instrument	UHPLC
Notes	Standards cat.# 34112 and 34093 were used to produce this chromatogram, but have since been discontinued. For assistance choosing a replacement for this application, contact Restek Technical Service or your local Restek representative.

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