Analysis of Pesticides in Cannabis Sativa Matrix

Pesticides in Cannabis sativa matrix were analyzed using the SRM capabilities of the JEOL JMS-TQ4000GC gas chromatograph triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. At concentrations of 1 ppb or less, 41 pesticides were detected with good linearity and very little matrix interference.

With the recent surge in legalization of Cannabis sativa for recreational use, there is a need for reliable analytical tools to meet the regulatory requirements for pesticide testing. Action limits for each pesticide vary between jurisdictions, but can be as low as 10 ppb. The JEOL JMS-TQ4000GC triple-quadrupole GC-MS/MS system offers high speed and high sensitivity for quantitation of trace pesticides. The TQ4000 combines a unique short collision cell with JEOL’s patented ion accumulation and timed detection technology to provide high sensitivity and selectivity, as well as the fastest selected reaction monitoring (SRM) switching speed available (up to 1000 SRMs/s). In this application note, we describe a sensitive method for analyzing pesticides in extracted Cannabis sativa matrix by using the SRM capabilities of our triple quadrupole system.