Automated extraction of 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid from urine samples using the ASPEC XL™ solid-phase extraction system

The analysis of 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-carboxylic acid (THCCOOH, the major metabolite of cannabis) in urine with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) sample preparation is well documented. Automated SPE sample preparation of THCCOOH in urine, although potentially advantageous, is to our knowledge poorly investigated. The objective of the present study was to develop and validate an automated SPE sample-preparation step using ASPEC XL suited for GC-MS confirmation analysis of THCCOOH in urine drug control. The recoveries showed that it was not possible to transfer the protocol for the manual SPE procedure with the vacuum manifold to the ASPEC XL without loss of recovery. Making the sample more lipophilic by adding 1 mL 2-propanol after hydrolysis to the urine sample in order to overcome the problem of surface adsorption of THCCOOH led to an extraction efficiency (77%) comparable to that reached with the vacuum manifold (84%). The reproducibility of the automated SPE procedure was better (coefficient of variation 5%) than that of the manual procedure (coefficient of variation 12%). The limit of detection was 1 ng/mL, and the limit of quantitation was 4 ng/mL. Precision at the 12.5-ng/mL level was as follows: Mean, 12.4 and coefficient of variation, 3.0%. Potential carryover was evaluated, but a carryover effect could not be detected. It was concluded that the proposed method is suited for GC-MS confirmation urinalysis of THCCOOH for prisons and detoxification centers.