The mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of the hydroxy and acid metabolites of Δ1- and Δ6-tetrahydrocannabinol

Deuterium labelling and high resolution mass measurements have been used to investigate the fragmentation mechanisms leading to diagnostic ions in the mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of 58 hydroxy and acid metabolites of delta 1- and delta 6-tetrahydrocannabinol and of two related compounds, 2 alpha- and 2 beta-hydroxy-delta 6-tetrahydrocannabinol. The spectra of most of the hydroxy metabolites contained abundant ions which were characteristic of the position of hydroxy substitution. These could be used diagnostically to determine the structures of polysubstituted metabolites.