Determination of phytocannabinoids in cannabis samples by ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector analysis

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 A8-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 chromatog-raphy with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) methodology to identify and quantify A9-THC, A8-THC, cannabidiol, cannabinol, A9-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 & AP;100% extraction efficiency of the target cannabinoids. The validation assays showed that the method is linear (R 2 > 0.997), selective, sensitive, precise and accurate, with suitable limits of detection (0.125-0.250 & mu;g mL -1) and quantification ( 0.500 & mu;g 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 A8-THC spiked samples using a novel solvent mixture. & COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )