Extraction, Purification and Analysis of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds from Cannabis

Darcy Shave, Waters Corporation, Milford, MA, USA
Andrew Aubin, Waters Corporation, Milford, Ma, Usa

There are many methods available to extract oils from Cannabis. Increased interest in the medical uses of the extract is driving the change to safer methods. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide has been found to work very well for this.

In this presentation, we will discuss the use of supercritical carbon dioxide as an extraction solvent to quickly and efficiently remove the cannabinoids from the Cannabis. We will also discuss the use of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) to isolate and purify the individual cannabinoids. Analytical scale SFC or liquid chromatography (LC) can then be used to analyze the starting materials, the extracts and the final products to better understand the production pathway.