As more states begin to decriminalize and legalize adult recreational cannabis, we must understand how to measure cannabinoids in biological matrices and learn how to relate those concentrations to active intoxication. Oral fluid, sweat, urine, and blood have been used to try to correlate cannabis intoxication to cannabinoid concentrations in these biological matricies, but no definitive correlation exists. Other biological matrices should be analyzed, such as breath aerosols. Unlike ethanol, which can be quantified in a single breath, cannabinoids in breath are limited. This pilot study investigated the cannabinoids present in exhaled breath aersols which were captured by a device with a wide mouthpiece followed by three parallel impact collectors. The aerosols were collected prior to and post ad libitum of smoked cannabis according to a NIST and CU approved IRB protocol. Recruits followed a low-lung-volume breathing maneuver for 12 exhalations to increase aerosol production. Breath samples included a baseline sample, a before use sample, and an after use sample at approximately one hour after use. Recruits used a specific legal market product formulated directly by a dispensary for this study. This presentation will focus on the analysis of un-derivatized cannabinoids in breath aerosol samples by HPLC-ESI-QQQ-MS/MS. The final method targeted five cannabinoids, Δ9THC, CBD, CBN, 11-OH-Δ9THC, and 11-COOH-Δ9THC. The method development will be discussed including analyte extraction, concentration of samples, and the use of process-meatched calibrators to more accurately determine cannabinoid concentrations. Limits of quantification of cannabinoids in the hundred’s of pg/mL were achieved with multi-reaction monitoring but varied by molecule. We observed the presence of the metabolite 11-COOH-Δ9THC in some samples, not previously observed in other breath studies.

Quantitative analysis of cannabinoids in exhaled breath aerosols by HPLC ESI-QQQ-MS/MS

ACS Spring 2022

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