Yo, what’s up? My name is Dan and I’m here to talk about chromatography in the cannabis industry. You know, with weed becoming legal in more and more places, it’s important to make sure that the stuff we’re smoking is safe for us. That’s where chromatography comes in.
Basically, chromatography is a way to test whether or not cannabis has any harmful contaminants in it. This is super important because nobody wants to be smoking pesticides or heavy metals, you feel me? Chromatography can also test the potency of the weed, making sure that the THC and CBD levels are within certain limits.
There are a few different methods of chromatography, but one of the most popular is high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HPLC doesn’t require heating like some of the other methods, so it’s great for testing potency. It’s also more accurate than the other methods.
Gas chromatography is another method that’s used for residual solvent screening. This method can detect any risky volatile compounds that might be present in the weed.
There’s also a method called centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) that’s used to extract and purify CBD for research purposes. This method is growing in popularity because it’s less expensive than some of the other methods. It also produces a purer compound than HPLC.
There are a few different tools that cannabis labs can use to test their weed. Shimadzu’s Cannabis Analyzer for Potency is one of them. It uses HPLC to analyze cannabinoid levels and has reporting and analysis software that offers three different analysis methods.
The G908 3-in-1 GC-HPMS of 908 Devices is another tool that analyzes terpene levels, total potency, and residual solvent. It does this by combining ballistic gas chromatography and high pressure mass spectrometry.
Of course, there are some limitations to these methods. For example, CPC isn’t suitable for all situations because it isn’t considered an analytical technique.
Overall, though, it’s clear that the cannabis industry is taking regulations seriously and working to make sure that the weed we smoke is safe for us. As more advancements are made in chromatography devices, we can expect testing to become even more affordable, accurate, and easy.
So there you have it, folks. That’s a brief rundown on chromatography in the cannabis industry. Stay safe out there and keep smoking that good good!
