Establish Your Cannabis Lab Fast - Ready-to-run eMethods and applications for cannabis testing: an application compendium

Significance of the Topic

Reliable cannabis testing ensures product safety, compliance with evolving regulations, and consistent product quality. It protects consumers from harmful contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents and microbial hazards while providing accurate potency information for medicinal and recreational use.

Objectives and Overview of the Study

This compendium of ready-to-run eMethods outlines end-to-end analytical workflows for six key areas in cannabis and hemp analysis: potency, pesticide and mycotoxin residues, heavy metals, residual solvents, terpenes profiling, and microbial testing. It aims to accelerate laboratory startup, reduce downtime and increase throughput through optimized methods, consumables kits, and support.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Agilent’s workflows integrate sample preparation, separation and detection across multiple platforms.

• Potency analysis by HPLC-UV (Agilent 1220/1260 Infinity II) and LC-MS (MSD iQ) or FTIR (Cary 630)
• Pesticide and mycotoxin profiling via dual-platform LC-MS/MS (6470A/Ultivo) and GC-MS/MS (8890/Intuvo 9000 with 7010B)
• Multi-element detection of heavy metals using ICP-MS (Agilent 7800 with High Matrix Introduction)
• Residual solvent quantitation with headspace GC-MS (7697 Headspace Sampler, 9000 GC, 5977 MSD)
• Terpene profiling by direct injection GC-MS (Intuvo 9000/5977B)
• Microbial pathogen detection using qPCR (AriaMx) and automated liquid handling (Bravo) with PathoSeek assays

Main Results and Discussion

The validated eMethods enable rapid method transfer, covering optimized sample preparation protocols, chromatographic conditions, detection parameters and reporting templates. Combining LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS platforms ensures comprehensive pesticide and mycotoxin coverage. Integrated data analysis tools streamline quantitation and quality control, improving consistency and regulatory compliance.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Accelerated lab commissioning with digital download of complete workflows
• Reduced method development time and resource consumption
• Enhanced throughput to match high sample volumes
• Robust, reproducible results for regulatory and quality assurance requirements
• Comprehensive support including consumables kits, training and onsite assistance

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Advances may include increased automation, AI-driven data analysis and expanded target libraries for emerging contaminants. Miniaturized and portable instruments could enable field-based screening, while novel detection technologies may offer faster and more sensitive assays for next-generation cannabis products.

Conclusion

Agilent’s ready-to-run eMethods offer a complete solution for cannabis lab setup and routine analysis across multiple test categories. By integrating optimized methods, instrumentation, consumables and expert support, laboratories can achieve reliable, high-throughput workflows that meet stringent regulatory and quality requirements.

References

• Dedicated Cannabinoid Potency Testing in Cannabis or Hemp Products Using the Agilent 1220 Infinity II LC System, eMethod G5277AA Option 010
• Quantification of Cannabinoids in Industrial Hemp Using the Agilent 1220 Infinity II LC System, eMethod G5277AA Option 020
• Quantitation of Phytocannabinoid Oils Using the Agilent 1260 Infinity II/InfinityLab LC/MSD iQ System
• Quick and Real-Time Potency Determination of Cannabinoids Using FTIR Spectroscopy
• Determination of Pesticides and Mycotoxins in Cannabis Flower by LC-MS/MS, eMethod G5279AA Options 010/030
• Analysis of GC-Amenable Pesticides in Cannabis Using 8890/7010B GC/MS, eMethod G5278AA Option 010
• Multi-Element Analysis of Cannabis and Hemp Using the Agilent 7800 ICP-MS
• Novel Residual Solvents Analysis of Cannabinoid Products with the Agilent Headspace-GC/MS System
• Terpenes Analysis in Cannabinoid Products by Liquid Injection Using the Agilent Intuvo 9000/5977B GC/MS System
• Optimized Cannabis Microbial Testing with AriaMx qPCR and Medicinal Genomics PathoSeek