Columns and Supplies Ordering Guide: Cannabis Flower and Hemp

Importance of the Topic

Cannabis and hemp testing has become critical for ensuring product safety, potency, and regulatory compliance. Accurate quantitation of cannabinoids, monitoring for pesticides, mycotoxins, residual solvents, terpenes, and heavy metals protects consumer health and supports consistent product quality across medicinal and recreational markets.

Objectives and Overview of the Guide

This guide is designed to simplify the ordering of columns, consumables, and complete kits from Agilent for key cannabis testing applications. It outlines solutions for potency analysis, pesticide and mycotoxin screening, residual solvent determination, terpene profiling, and heavy metal measurement, enabling laboratories to select preconfigured kits and individual supplies for up to 400 samples.

Applied Methodology and Instrumentation

The guide covers workflows using a range of separation and detection techniques:

• Liquid chromatography (HPLC/UHPLC) and LC/MS/MS for cannabinoid potency, pesticide, and mycotoxin testing.
• Gas chromatography (GC) and GC/MS/MS for residual solvents, pesticides, and terpene analysis, including headspace sampling.
• ICP-MS for multi-element heavy metal screening in cannabis matrices.
• Sample preparation consumables: syringe filters, homogenizers, SPE cartridges, autosampler vials, and headspace vessels.

Used Instrumentation

Key Agilent instruments supported include:

• 1220 Infinity II and 1260 Infinity II LC systems, InfinityLab UHPLC columns and guard cartridges.
• Intuvo 9000 GC, 7890/8890 GC with 7010B/6470 LC/TQ MS, 5977B GC/MS and Headspace 7697A sampler.
• 7800 ICP-MS analyzer with starter consumable kits.

Main Results and Discussion

Agilent’s preassembled consumable kits streamline method setup and reduce procurement complexity. Each kit contains columns, standards, solvents, fittings, and sample prep items matched to published application notes and e-methods. Validation details in the original references demonstrate reproducible quantitation of cannabinoids, sub-ppb detection of pesticides and mycotoxins, reliable residual solvent profiling, comprehensive terpene retention, and accurate trace metal quantification.

Benefits and Practical Applications

By leveraging these complete solutions, laboratories can:

• Accelerate method adoption with e-methods and documented application notes.
• Ensure consistency across multiple analyte classes using standardized consumables.
• Maintain compliance with regional regulations through curated pesticide and solvent mixes.
• Optimize throughput while reducing the risk of supply chain errors.

Future Trends and Potential Uses

As the cannabis industry evolves, key developments include:

• Expanded analyte panels to include emerging cannabinoids and contaminants.
• Integration of high-resolution MS and hybrid detection for untargeted profiling.
• Automation in sample prep and data handling to increase throughput.
• Greater adoption of in-line quality control and digital lab informatics for real-time compliance monitoring.

Conclusion

Agilent’s comprehensive ordering guide simplifies procurement of all essential columns and consumables for cannabis and hemp testing. The combination of validated application notes, e-methods, and preconfigured kits enables laboratories to implement robust, reproducible workflows across potency, safety, and quality assays.

References

• Application Note 5991-9285EN: Dedicated Cannabinoid Potency Testing Using the Agilent 1220 Infinity II LC System (e-method G5277#010)
• Application Note 5994-0912EN: Quantification of Cannabinoids in Industrial Hemp Using the Agilent 1220 Infinity II LC System
• Application Note 5994-1706EN: Quantitation of Phytocannabinoid Oils Using the Agilent Infinity II 1260 Prime/InfinityLab LC/MSD iQ LC/MS System
• Application Note 5994-0648EN: Determination of Pesticides and Mycotoxins as Defined by California State Recreational Cannabis Regulations
• Application Note 5994-1926EN: Novel Residual Solvents Analysis of Cannabinoid Products with the Agilent Headspace-GC/MS System (e-method G5280#010)
• Application Note 5994-2032EN: Terpenes Analysis in Cannabis Products by Liquid Injection Using the Agilent Intuvo 9000/5977B GC/MS System (e-method G5282AA#010)
• Application Note 5991-8482EN: Multi-Element Analysis of Cannabis and Hemp using ICP-MS (e-method G5280#010)