Differentiation of marijuana headspace volatiles from other plants and hemp products using capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) coupled to gas-chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)

Abstract

10The ability to rapidly detect illicit drugs, such as marijuana, is critical to policing legislation 11 across the country. However, it is often difficult to distinguish or identify small quantities of 12 drugs in large spaces without the aid of trained canines. A new device, the capillary 13 microextractor of volatiles (CMV), has the potential to provide rapid detection due to its ability 14 to collect and preconcentrate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) directly from air within 15 minutes. Analysis of the captured compounds can then be performed using a gas 16 chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). This study focuses on the detection of marijuana 17 volatiles using the CMV as a sampling and preconcentration device given the hypothesis that 18 marijuana will have a distinct chemical profile, or collection of VOCs, that distinguishes it from 19 related plants and other products that could emit similar compounds. Volatile compounds from 20 the headspace of marijuana, related plants, and hemp products were extracted using the CMV 21 and analyzed with GC-MS. The compounds identified and the chemical profiles of each sample 22 were then compared to the volatiles found in the headspace of authentic marijuana samples. The 23 findings presented here suggest that marijuana plants emit volatiles that are readily distinguished 24 from the other samples tested in this study. The distinguishing compounds included α-santalene, 25 valencene, and β-bisabolene. In some cases, THC and cannabinol were also present in the 26 headspace of marijuana. Although these findings support the hypothesis that marijuana has a 27 distinct chemical VOC signature, further work to create a larger database of potential plants and 28 materials is recommended prior to routine use of the CMV coupled to a GC-MS in forensic 29 casework. 30 31 KEYWORDS capillary microextraction of volatiles, marijuana detection, gas chromatography 32 mass spectrometry, volatile organic compounds, headspace extraction 33 34

Gene Networks Underlying Cannabinoid and Terpenoid Accumulation in Cannabis

“…To the best of our knowledge, the sesquiterpenes generated by these terpene synthases (germacrene B and hedycaryol) have not been identified in cannabis samples yet, indicating the need for a more comprehensive coverage of terpenoids to better understand strain-specific aroma profiles. It should also be noted that several recent studies reporting on comprehensive chemical and sensory analyses of volatiles emitted from cannabis found that nonterpenoid alcohols and aldehydes have potent odor impacts (Rice and Koziel, 2015;Wiebelhaus et al, 2016;Calvi et al, 2018). These considerations indicate that more emphasis needs to be placed on comprehensive metabolite profiling, including cannabinoids and terpenoids but also extending to other volatiles, for future efforts focused on strain characterization.…”

Quality Traits of Medical Cannabis sativa L. Inflorescences and Derived Products Based on Comprehensive Mass-Spectrometry Analytical Investigation

“…In particular, by the means of HS-SPME, authors were able to isolate and identify a potential volatile marker that might serve as a substance by which the resin and plant material could be discriminated. Volatiles in some Bedrocan® varieties have been previously investigated for their terpene content by GC-FID [29], a technique that provides only a partial volatile profile and is severely limited, as it does not furnish the identification of unknown volatiles, as is feasible with GC-MS facilities accompanied by adequate, up-dated mass spectrum libraries [31,40].…”

“…Furthermore, the terpenes were extracted using ethanol as an extraction solvent [29] and then quantified by using a calibration curve constructed by using generic internal standard. This approach is usually limitative as the polarity of the solvent could dramatically influence the terpene profile obtained and lead to the underestimation of the complex mixture of secondary metabolites emitted by plants as a result [40]. Methods involving headspace sampling appear to be the most opportune option to investigate cannabis volatile profile to obtain a representative profile of their volatile constituents avoiding interference potentially brought by predominant cannabinoids in the resulting chromatogram [41].…”

Predicting the Geographic Origin of Heroin by Multivariate Analysis of Elemental Composition and Strontium Isotope Ratios

“…However, the sensitivity of the Element 2 in LR is still 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than that of a quadrupole (which is comparable to the sensitivity of the Element 2 in MR). The following isotopes were measured in low resolution: 9 Be, 11 B, 23 Na, 53 Cr, 85 Rb, 88 Sr, 90 Zr, 93 Nb, 95 Th, 238 U. The following isotopes were measured in medium resolution: 24 Mg, 27 Al, 31 P, 32 S, 43 Ca, 44 Ca, 47 Ti, 51 V, 52 Cr, 53 Cr, 55 Mn, 56 Fe, 59 Co, 60 Ni, 63 Cu, 66 Zn, 69 Ga.…”

“…The analysis of headspace compounds by CMV-GC-MS has been used to sample forensic samples such as explosives resides, gunshot residues and controlled substances [90,[93][94][95]. Additionally, Nair and Miskelly used capillary microextraction devices for sampling methamphetamine vapor [96].…”