Volume 59, Issue 330, June 2023

The first application of Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART+) with the use of NIST-14 for the detection of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in cannabis seizures in Egypt

Omar ME Abdel-Salam^♦, Shaimaa A El Shebiney

Department of Toxicology and Narcotics, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Toxicology and Narcotics, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to detect the presence of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis seizures in Egypt using the new mass analysis tool “direct analysis in real time” (DART+). The dried flowering tops and leaves (marijuana), the cannabis resin (hashish) or the dried stalks were subjected to analysis using direct analysis in real time (DART+). Results indicated that the use of DART+ for leaves, resin and even dried stalks without extraction displayed a single peak for THC. It is concluded that THC was the major compound identified. The use of the new mass analysis tool DART+ proved to be a simple and rapid technique for detecting the presence of THC in seized samples.

Keywords: Cannabis, hashish, marijuana, direct analysis in real time, DART+

Discovery, 2023, 59, e74d1267

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Published: June 2023