This study presents a comparative analysis of various cannabinoids in commercially available Cannabinoid (CBD) oils using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with a UV detector (HPLC-UV) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques. The latter is a more popular analytical technique used in such studies. However, since GC-MS involves heating of the samples, it is unable to detect the acidic forms of our target molecules, i.e. Tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THCA), Cannabidiol acid (CBDA) and Cannabichromene acid (CBCA). These molecules undergo heat- induced decarboxylation resulting in Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabichromene (CBC) respectively, which are usually detected by GC-MS.<br/>In our study, the CBD oil samples were first extracted in organic solvents through 24-hour incubation followed by sonication, centrifugation, reconstitution in pure organic solvent and subsequent sonication. The resultant organic layer was collected and analyzed using GC-MS. The instrument was able to detect (-)-trans-cannabidiol (CBD), Cannabichromene (CBC) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) using a temperature ramp of 25°C/min until 300°Cand a total run time of 33 minutes. This supported the aforementioned observation that GC-MS only detected natural forms of the analytes of interest and not their acidic forms. In contrast, a reverse phase HPLC technique is able to detect both native and acidic forms of these components without any substantial chemical or physical intervention.<br/>

Analysis of cannabinoids in CBD oil using GC-MS and HPLC techniques

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.