Determination of plasma and urine levels of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and its main metabolite by liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the most widespread drug of abuse in the world and it is also currently available as the active principle of formulations for the treatment of chronic pain. Its main metabolite, 11-nor-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid, is the most important marker of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol consumption. An original liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of these two analytes in human plasma and urine. Separation was obtained on a C8 column using a mobile phase with 35% phosphate buffer at pH 2.7 and 65% acetonitrile. The UV detector was set at 220 nm and indomethacin was used as the internal standard. Sample pre-treatment was carried out by solid-phase extraction with C8 cartridges; urine samples were subjected to basic hydrolysis before extraction. Both extraction yields (> 91%) and precision values were highly satisfactory. The method was successfully applied to biological samples collected from Cannabis users. Accuracy and selectivity results were satisfactory. This is the first HPLC-UV method developed for the simultaneous quantification of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-nor-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid in both plasma and urine for the monitoring of either therapeutic or recreational use.