Simultaneous analysis of several synthetic cannabinoids, THC, CBD and CBN, in hair by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Method validation and application to real samples

A simple procedure for the quantitative detection of JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH 200, JWH-250, HU-210, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol and cannabinol (CBN) in hair has been developed and fully validated. After digestion with NaOH and liquid–liquid extraction, the separation was performed with an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography system coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in the selected reaction monitoring mode. The absence of matrix interferents, together with excellent repeatability of both retention times and relative abundances of diagnostic transitions, allowed the correct identification of all analytes tested. The method was linear in two different intervals at low and high concentration, with correlation coefficient values between 0.9933 and 0.9991. Quantitation limits ranged from 0.07 for JWH-200 up to 18 pg/mg for CBN. The present method for the determination of several cannabinoids in hair proved to be simple, fast, specific and sensitive. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of 179 real samples collected from proven consumers of Cannabis, among which 14 were found positive to at least one synthetic cannabinoid.