Detection of cannabinoids and cannabinoid metabolites using gas chromatography with vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy

Relatively new technology vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopic (120–240 nm) detection for gas chromatography, was evaluated and shown to successfully differentiate cannabinoids, their metabolites, and derivatives thereof. The possibility to deconvolute co‐eluting peaks due to additivity of overlapping absorbance spectra of the analytes was also demonstrated. This feature allows the use of faster temperature ramps, faster analysis time, and reduces the need to baseline resolve all analytes, without sacrificing sensitivity. The combination of vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy with gas chromatography allows for the analysis of cannabinoids that have similar structures and molecular weight, and whose chromatographic separation can be difficult to obtain. The sensitivity of the approach (low ppm; low ng on‐column) is currently sufficient for tracking cannabinoids in plant material, but significant sample enrichment would be needed to target cannabinoids and metabolites in biological samples.