Unique Technologies and Solutions

Detection of typical GC-MS Pesticides in Cannabis Matrix utilizing APCI-LCMS
Presented By: Jennifer Davis, Shimadzu Scientific

With the increase in medicinal and recreational cannabis legislation throughout the United States there is an emerging demand for residual pesticide testing on cannabis products. The regulatory lists created by California and Oregon for cannabis are currently being analyzed using both LCMS and GCMS. This is because certain compounds do not ionize well by electrospray ionization- liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (ESI-LCMS). This study demonstrates the use of APCI-LCMS and explores the utility of LCMS for the analysis of the complete California and Oregon pesticides lists for cannabis. A Shimadzu LCMS-8060 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) ionization source was employed for this evaluation. Optimization was completed for ten pesticides, including Captan, Chlordane, and Chlorfenapyr. The resulting APCI-LCMS MRM method was tested in cannabis flower extract on a Shimadzu LCMS-8060. For each pesticide one to five MRM transitions were acquire, and chromatographic separation was accomplished. Matrix-matched calibration curves were prepared by serial dilution of spiked flower extract with blank flower extract and evaluated for each pesticide. The LOQs determined in this method were well below the action limits required by California and Oregon, demonstrating the viability of an LCMS total solution for cannabis testing in these two programs.

Environmental monitoring for cannabis production and cultivation
Presented By: Kelli Mazzi

Want to get to know more about environmental monitoring and why it is key to good production practices? Viable air monitoring can indicate microbial contamination in your growing or production environment and trending data can alert you to any potential contamination risks. Sanitation verification (ATP testing) also depicts the cleanliness of your environment and can indicate whether or not your SOP’s are effective. In this workshop we will show a hands-on demonstration of our RCS High Flow Touch and MAS VF viable air samplers and our MVP ICON instrumentation for ATP testing.  

Microbiology Testing:

Rapid indicator testing for microbial contamination 
Presented By: Shikeba Shirzay

The MC Media pad is designed for convenient and rapid routine testing of microbial contaminations in your food and beverage products.  We will discuss the features and benefits of the MC Media pad as well as walk you through how to sample and how you can interpret your results using an automatic colony counter.