Sensitive and Reliable Detection of Regulated Mycotoxins in Cannabis and Derivative Products by Immunoaffinity Enrichment and LC-MS/MS

Speaking at the Analytical Cannabis Expo East Online 2020, Kimberly Martin, Technical Service Representative and Applications Chemist II at VICAM presented her talk on mycotoxin analysis for cannabis products.

Abstract: Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by various microorganisms. Cannabis flower and derivative products can potentially be colonized by these organisms and thus become contaminated with mycotoxin residues.

Mycotoxins are dangerous contaminants and MRL's are generally set at less than 10 ug/kg. Aflatoxin B1 in particular is produced by Aspergillus species and is a potent carcinogen.

We present a validated analytical method suitable for control of mycotoxin contamination in a wide variety of sample matrices. The sensitivity and specificity provided by IA enrichment and LC-MS/MS prove critical for meeting low MRL's and reliably identifying mycotoxin contamination.