Analysis of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Urine, Plasma, and Edibles

The core focus of a forensic toxicology laboratory is to determine the presence or absence of drugs in seized evidence. The target matrix can be in solid format, such as pills and powders, or biological materials (blood, plasma, urine, saliva, hair, and tissues). The analytical techniques currently available are divided into two categories, some platforms are used for screening methods (qualitative) and other solutions are used for confirmation methods (quantitative). Most laboratories are usually equipped with gas chromatography (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC) hyphenated to a mass spectrometer (MS). For several decades, GC/MS was the tool of choice for bio-analysis. However, with the introduction of atmospheric pressure ionization technique, LC/MS is now the most popular technique in the field of forensic toxicology.