A Study of Psychoactive Cannabis Components via Derivatization and Analysis by GC-EI-MS

The cannabis plant (cannabis sativa) contains numerous psychoactive components that can be analyzed in numerous ways. Some of these components are chemically acidic and when heated, convert into other psychoactive components. For example, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC-A) converts into delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) when heated. Our laboratory has developed a technique to capture the acidic form via chemical derivatization, which allows for the identification of THC-A in the high temperature environment of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This portion of the project focused on determining the stoichiometry required for derivatization.