HPLC Analysis of Spice Cannabinoids on Ascentis® Express C18
Materials
analytical column
standard
Spice Cannabinoid Mix solution
100 μg/mL each component in acetonitrile, ampule of 1.0 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®HU-210 solution
100 μg/mL in methanol, (Spice Cannabinoid), ampule of 1 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®JWH-018 solution
100 μg/mL in methanol, ampule of 1 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®JWH-073 solution
100 μg/mL in acetonitrile, ampule of 1 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®JWH-073 N-(3-hydroxybutyl) metabolite solution
100 μg/mL in methanol, ampule of 1 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®CONDITIONS
column
Ascentis Express C18, 10 cm x 2.1 mm I.D., 2.7 μm particles (53823-U)
mobile phase
[A] 5 mM ammonium formate water; [B] 5 mM ammonium formate (95:5, acetonitrile:water)
gradient
68 to 100% B in 8 min; held at 100% B for 2 min
flow rate
0.6 mL/min
pressure
4351 psi (300 bar)
column temp.
30 °C
detector
UV, 265 nm
injection
3 μL
Description
Analysis Note
Synthetic cannabinoids (e.g. "Spice") are a type of designer drug used to get a cannabis-type high. New synthetic cannabinoids are continually being introduced as suppliers tweak the molecular structures. The ability to rapidly and reliably identify the continually changing population of these compounds in the blood or urine suspected users is a significant analytical challenge facing forensic chemists. Here is shown the selectivity provided by C18 phase chemistry on an Ascentis Express C18 column with UV detection. Cerilliant CRMs provided reliable identification and quantification.
Legal Information
Ascentis is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany