The Canadian cannabis economy is currently seeking well characterized terpenes for evaluating their therapeutic merits when developed into formulations with cannabinoids (i.e. cannabidiol of particular importance) for products suitable for pain management and to control symptoms of many systemic diseases. Dr. Akhtar has developed systems to produce specific terpene metabolite expressions and render these candidate targets for bioactivity experiments and analytical development while transferring mass spectrometry reference materials to the mobile and central MSC labs for plant tissue screening. There exists a large pond of yet to be classified terpene and cannabinoid behaving molecules and MSC would open the door for craft marijuana growers to explore their unique chemical imprints using such standards via our mass spec instruments.
The Division of Analytical and Environmental Toxicology under the direction of Dr. Xing-Fang Li at the University of Alberta, exemplifies the global attention to addressing public safety in food and drinking water. The Li laboratory with their mass spectrometry research team is recognized as one of Canada’s top analytical chemistry research laboratories, particularly in mass spectrometry toxicology testing. Dr. Li specializes in method development and the study of trace compounds in complex matrices. Since 2010, Dr. Li and her team have published 83 peer-refereed articles, 3 commentaries, 2 reports, and 4 book chapters in related fields. The expertise of the Li laboratory is ideally suited to partner in study of multiple residual pesticides that may be present in the complex matrix of cannabis oils that will not pass final lot release testing by Health Canada’s standards.
The collaborative research between MSC and Professor Li aims to develop sensitive methods for the identification and quantification of trace pesticides in cannabis oil products that MSC will integrate into a comprehensive quality and risk management business platform.
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