[White paper] Best practices for cannabis analysis with Precellys homogenizers

In the past years, cannabis has attracted increasing attention due to the rising instances of its legalization for recreational use and for medical benefits. To date, more than a thousand chemical constituents have been identified from the cannabis plant, with varying chemical properties. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active principle responsible for Cannabis psychotropic effect while cannabidiol (CBD) has well-documented anxiolytic, spasmolytic, as well as anticonvulsant effects. Because of the importance of cannabis, a growing number of papers has been published containing a variety of methods for the detection and quantification of cannabis constituents, both for field and forensic samples. In the food industry, reliable methods to identify the presence of Cannabis sativa in food are an essential step to ensure consumer safety. In forensic science, many papers have been published for the detection of cannabis substances in hair, nail, blood, and urine samples.

The sample preparation protocol is crucial for the success of most standard analytical methods used to study cannabis, including mass spectrometry workflows, PCR, and NGS techniques. The efficiency of 3D-beating technology as well as the many advantages of this technology lead it to be considered the gold standard for sample homogenization. This is the reason why it empowers Precellys homogenizers range of Bertin Technologies. In this white paper, we present optimized protocols to help researchers get high-quality molecules for their cannabis analysis workflows.