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Although systems for growing, production, and sale of cannabis and cannabis related products are well established, regulation and enforcement of quality and safety testing have lagged behind. However, state governments and private laboratories are focusing on product safety testing with special emphasis on pesticide analysis. This focus is partially the result of various product recalls, media attention, and concern from patient advocacy groups. We evaluated a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation method followed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for the analysis of multiresidue pesticides. The Association of Analytical Communities International (AOAC) QuEChERS method was used for a reduced 1.5-g amount of plant material and processed with a universal dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) formulation. LC–MS/MS analysis used constant polarity switching electrospray ionization (ESI) and monitored at least two transitions per analyte. Matrix-matched calibration was used for quantitation and both method and instrument internal standards were used. Analyte recovery validation was performed according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) guidelines by testing three matrices at three fortification levels in triplicate for more than 200 pesticides. For the large majority of pesticides, in all three matrices and at all three fortification levels, recovery was 70-120%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although systems for growing, production, and sale of cannabis and cannabis related products are well established, regulation and enforcement of quality and safety testing have lagged behind. However, state governments and private laboratories are focusing on product safety testing with special emphasis on pesticide analysis. This focus is partially the result of various product recalls, media attention, and concern from patient advocacy groups. We evaluated a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation method followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the analysis of multiresidue pesticides. The Association of Analytical Communities International (AOAC) QuEChERS method was used for a reduced 1.5-g amount of plant material and processed with a universal dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) formulation. LC-MS/MS analysis used constant polarity switching electrospray ionization (ESI) and monitored at least two transitions per analyte. Matrix-matched calibration was used for quantitation and both method and instrument internal standards were used. Analyte recovery validation was performed according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) guidelines by testing three matrices at three fortification levels in triplicate for more than 200 pesticides. For the large majority of pesticides, in all three matrices and at all three fortification levels, recovery was 70-120%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that are persistent and toxic. The historical quantitative analysis of these compounds has been achieved with high-resolution targeted analysis using magnetic sector instruments, with subsequent lower resolution analysis to identify other contaminants. Advances in technology have led to comprehensive time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers that can quantify PCDDs or PCDFs while simultaneously acquiring data on other contaminants in the samples. Samples that had been analyzed using EPA Method 1613B condi-tions on a sector instrument were analyzed with a high performance TOF mass spectrometer and a low-resolution comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) TOF instrument. The quantitative results from the sector, the high-resolution TOF, and the GCxGC-TOF systems are compared in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that are persistent and toxic. The historical quantitative analysis of these compounds has been achieved with high-resolution targeted analysis using magnetic sector instruments, with subsequent lower resolution analysis to identify other contaminants. Advances in technology have led to comprehensive time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers that can quantify PCDDs or PCDFs while simultaneously acquiring data on other contaminants in the samples. Samples that had been analyzed using EPA Method 1613B condi-tions on a sector instrument were analyzed with a high performance TOF mass spectrometer and a low-resolution comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) TOF instrument. The quantitative results from the sector, the high-resolution TOF, and the GCxGC-T0F systems are compared in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on Analysis of Method 1613B developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Science and Technology. It compares the results of the quantitative analysis of Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) obtained from the method. PCDDs and PCDFs are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that are persistent and toxic.

New requirements for dietary supplements to be manufactured under cGMP regulations have created a need for methods to detect pesticides in these complex, largely botanical products (for example, vitamins, herbal and botanical pills) Because dietary supplements contain natural products where pesticides have been employed, methods for pesticide analysis must be evaluated, including sample extraction and cleanup as well as instrumental techniques such as gas chromatography (GC). The QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) sample preparation approach offers a rapid way to prepare samples for analysis, but dietary supplement extracts can be so complex as to make trace-level pesticide determinations problematic. In this work, we evaluate a method involving QuEChERS extraction and dispersive solid- phase extraction (dSPE) cleanup, cartridge SPE (cSPE) cleanup, and GC with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) to detect pesticide residues in dandelion root powder obtained from a dietary supplement vendor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent establishment of a 1 μg/g safety threshold for melamine in infant foods has led to an immediate need for more sensitive methods. Here we established GC-MS conditions for highly reproducible analyses and evaluated the effectiveness of both solvent-based and matrix-matched standards. Using this method, melamine and cyanuric acid were reliably detected at and below 1 μg/g in infant formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study focusing on lowering the detection limits for 1,4-Dioxane in drinking water using large volume injection in an unmodified splitless gas chromatography (GC) inlet. It states that the risk assessment level of 1,4-Dioxane corresponds to lifetime probability of an individual developing cancer. It showed that confirmation ions were free of interferences in all extracted sample analyses with good response.

The article discusses a study that investigated the use of split injection in analysis of semivolatile environmental pollutants. Topics covered include the calibration performance of compounds analyzed such as hexachloroethane, nitrobenzene and chrysene, the failure of the three highest concentration calibration standards to pass the resolution criterion, and the advantage of using split injection with a sensitive mass spectrometry (MS) detector and highly inert analytical column.

The article examines the applicability of split injection to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) analysis using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Method 8270D performance analysis. It analyzes 40% of semivolatiles samples per shift using split injection in comparison to the typical splitless injection. It demonstrates sample throughput for SVOC analysis which indicates that this can be increased by using split injection with higher initial temperature and faster cycle time.

The article focuses on the use of Rtx-CL Pesticides column separation technology for organochlorine pesticides analysis developed by the Restek Corp. Topics discussed include analysis of fast organochlorine pesticides gas chromatography-micro-electron capture detector (GC-Micro-ECD) when using helium or hydrogen carrier gas, the selectivity of the column set provided good resolution between peaks and column pair that gives the flexibility for improving productivity using either of carrier gas.

As the medical cannabis industry grows, quality testing becomes more important for consumer protection. Accurate reporting of cannabinoids is highly dependent on GC column selectivity. The selectivity of Rxi®-35Sil MS columns provides complete separation of critical compounds and prevents overestimation of cannabis potency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several techniques including gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry which are used for monitoring pesticide residue in foods. It mentions that the pesticide residue can be extracted effectively from fruits and vegetables with the help of QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) method. It presents figures describing the total ion chromatogram (TIC) contour plots for grape and lemon QuEChERS extracts.

The article highlights the use of GCxGC (gas chromatography) with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) to analyzed peppermint oil containing various levels of WS-3, N-ethyl-5-methyl-1-2-(1-methylethyl)-cyclohexa-necarboxamide, a physiological cooling agent used in a variety of consumer products. Samples were diluted by 10 times with acetone prior to GCxGC-TOFMS analysis to minimize chromatographic overload. The ChromaTOF software of LECO Corp., provides the analysis of the GCxGC-TOFMS data.