SPME
8 mL surface water in 10 mL vial, adjusted to pH 2 with HCl, spiked with THC and THCCOOH at 50 ng/L each compound
StableFlex™ SPME Fiber, DVB/CARBOXEN-PDMS, 2 cm
immersion, 60 min, 60 °C
260° C, 3 min
post-extraction derivatization: 500 μL MSTFA in 10 mL vial, headspace, 30 min, 60 °C
fiber post-bake: 10 min, 270 °C
SLB-5ms: 20 m x 0.18 mm I.D., 0.18 μm (28564-U)
90°C (3 min), 20 °C/min to 200 °C, 3 °C/min to 300°C (5 min)
260 °C
MSD
325 °C
SIM:THC: m/z=303, 371(quant), 386;THCCOOH: m/z=371 (quant), 473, 488
helium, 1 mL/min constant flow
splitless
0.75 mm SPME
Cannabis is a Schedule 1 substance under US federal law. However, at the time of this writing, four US states have legalized it for recreational and medical use. The level of use by the general public is typically determined through questionnaires and crime statistics, but this approach may not give an accurate assessment. Sewage epidemiology seeks to correlate data from these surveys with actual levels found in wastewater. In the case of cannabis, this can be done by analyzing for the psychoactive substance, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and its major metabolite, carboxytetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH). THC can be analyzed by GC directly, but because THCCOOH contains an acid group in its structure it requires derivatization. Thus, if the two compounds are analyzed together, derivatization must be used. In this application, solid phase microextraction (SPME) with post-extraction, on-fiber derivatization was used for low level analysis of THC and THCCOOH from surface water prior to separation on an SLB®-5ms GC column. Cerilliant CRMs provided reliable quantification.
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StableFlex is a trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC