The medicinal and recreational use of marijuana and other products containing Δ9- Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) has increased tremendously over the years, and forensic analysis of urine samples for these drugs has increased accordingly. One issue is, however, that since THC and CBD are similar in chemical structure, distinguishing between the two can be difficult using most analytical methods involving mass spectrometry. The significance of this research was to investigate a new analytical method for marijuana drug detection that would be faster and avoids using mass-to-charge ratios. The metabolites, 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD, were detected in synthetic urine samples using capillary electrophoresis with UV detection (CE-UV-Vis), which mimics what would be found in human urine samples after metabolization. The method was based on a THC extraction protocol from urine using 1.0 mg/mL stock solutions of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD. Diluted concentration standards of 2.5, 5.0, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 ng/mL were prepared and an extraction solvent of 80:10:10 hexane/EtOAc/MTBE was added to each sample. Standards were evaporated to dryness at 45 °C and then reconstituted in 2.5 mM NaOH dissolved in a 1:1 mixture of methanol and acetonitrile. The spectra were collected, and the absorption peaks were analyzed at the optimal wavelength(s) for the two metabolites. A calibration curve was generated for all the standards as a part of the analysis. After successful analysis of the synthetic urine standards, samples of unknown concentrations of the two metabolites were prepared and analyzed following the same procedure using CE for a quantitative determination. The data found from this research could then be extrapolated to find THC and CBD components in human urine samples as future research.

Extraction and identification of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in synthetic urine via capillary electrophoresis and UV detection

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.