Development of Paper-based Microfluidic Devices for the Detection of Cannabis Components

Cannabinoids found in cannabis plants include substances designated as narcotics as well as those used in health care and beauty products, highlighting a strong demand for the development of technology to easily distinguish and detect them. However, these compounds have similar chemical structures, making it challenging to differentiate them with simple analyses. We have developed a paper-based microfluidic device capable of distinguishing and detecting tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), which are designated as narcotics, as well as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN), which are used in health care and beauty products. By reacting each of these cannabinoids with a diazo coupling reagent, capturing the resulting colorimetric products with a digital camera, and analyzing the images, this device can distinguish and detect the four cannabinoids.