Robert Thomas
Principal of Scientific Solutions
Rob is a heavy metals expert and has written for Analytical Cannabis on the subject since 2019. Through his consulting company Scientific Solutions, he has helped educate countless professionals in the cannabis testing community on heavy metal analysis. He is also an editor and frequent contributor of the Atomic Perspectives column in Spectroscopy magazine, and has authored five textbooks on the principles and applications of mass spectrometry. Rob has an Advanced Degree in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wales, UK, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a chartered chemist.
Latest content from Robert Thomas
The Role of ICP-MS in Understanding the Toxicological Link Between Lead Contamination in Cannabis and Hemp Products and Human Disease – Part 2
In the second part of his article, Robert Thomas, a leading heavy metals expert in the cannabis testing sector and principle of the consulting company Scientific Solutions, explains just how inductively coupled plasma-mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS) can lower the regulatory demands of cannabis testing to better understand the link between lead toxicity and human disease.
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The Role of ICP-MS in Understanding the Toxicological Link Between Lead Contamination in Cannabis and Hemp Products and Human Disease – Part 1
Robert Thomas, a leading heavy metals expert in the cannabis testing sector and principle of the consulting company Scientific Solutions, explains just how inductively coupled plasma-mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS) can lower the regulatory demands of cannabis testing to better understand the link between lead toxicity and human disease.
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A Recap of ASTM’s Workshop on Measuring Elemental Contaminants in Cannabis and Hemp Consumer Products
Rob Thomas recaps ASTM's recent three-day workshop on heavy metal contaminants in cannabis, and just what can be done about them.
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ASTM Workshop on Measurement of Elemental Contaminants in Cannabis/Hemp Consumer Products
This workshop will provide a broad perspective of the current knowledge of elemental contaminants in cannabis/hemp consumer products, communicate their significance, and as a result, educate users, cultivators, processors, testing labs, and regulators within the cannabis/hemp community of their potential risk to human and environmental health.
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The Challenges of Measuring Heavy Metal Contaminants in Cannabis Vaping Aerosols
This white paper examines the fundamentals of vaping and in particular the process of converting a liquid into an aerosol and highlights the challenges of monitoring elemental contaminants in the vaping aerosol as opposed to the vaping liquid.
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Can Avid Hyperaccumulating Plants like Hemp be Realistically Used as a Source of Medicinal Cannabinoids? Part 2: The Importance of Testing
The second part of this series examines industrial and medical applications of hemp and emphasize the importance of regular testing for heavy metals to ensure maximum consumer safety.
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Can Avid Hyperaccumulating Plants Like Hemp Realistically be Used as a Source of Medicinal Cannabinoids? Part 1: The Conflicting Personality of Hemp
Explore the phytoremediation properties of hemp and why it has been used to clean up toxic waste sites where other types of remediation have failed.
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The Importance of Measuring Heavy Metal Contaminants in Cannabis and Hemp
This White Paper will examine all these potential sources of contamination and emphasize that testing of cannabis and cannabinoids through the entire growing and manufacturing process for a comprehensive suite of elemental contaminants is critically important to ensure these products are safe for consumers.
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New Colorado Regulations for the Measurement of Heavy Metals in Cannabis Vaping Aerosols, A Realistic and Practical Assessment: Part 3
We discuss the ICP-MS measurement technique and the many potential sources of interferences observed when determining the most common metals found in aerosols generated from organic-rich vaping liquids.
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New Colorado Regulations for the Measurement of Heavy Metals in Cannabis Vaping Aerosols, A Realistic and Practical Assessment: Part 2
Learn about the challenges of trapping and collecting aerosols without contaminating the sample, and how best to validate the process using standard methods developed by the tobacco industry for electronic nicotine delivery systems.
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