Collection of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol from breath by liquid secondary adsorption analyzed with mass spectrometry: a technical note

We introduce a novel method for efficient collection of analytes of low volatility from human breath, liquid secondary adsorption (LSA), and the application of this method to drug detection with mass spectrometry. Cannabis legalization has occurred in many jurisdictions, creating a need for a simple method for detection of recency of use. Most existing breath sampling methods rely on a time consuming and complex process of adsorption of the analyte of interest, and still often result in low collection efficiencies. The pilot study shows the capability of a breath capture technique and mass spectrometry add on analysis device (Cannabix Breath Analysis System) to easily collect breath samples in the field and rapidly analyze them without complex sample preparation. The study also shows correlation between the breath data collected with this method and blood Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels.