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Analysis of 14 endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid congeners in human plasma using column switching high-performance atmospheric pressure chemical ionization liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a complex cell-signaling system. To address the growing need of analytics capturing endocannabinoid levels to investigate the ECS, we developed and validated an assay for the quantitative analysis of 14 endocannabinoids and congeners. A simple extraction using protein precipitation with acetonitrile followed by online-trapping high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/LC-MS/MS) was used to monitor the levels of 14 endocannabinoids in plasma. The assay was validated and intra-run and inter-run accuracies and imprecisions as well as matrix effects, recoveries, and sample stabilities were determined. As a proof of concept, a subset of study samples after naturalistic administration of Cannabis flower and concentrate was analyzed. With the exception of N-oleoyl dopamine and oleamide, all endocannabinoids fulfilled the predefined acceptance criteria. Reproducible recoveries and no significant matrix effects were observed. Sample stability was an issue. Analysis of the proof-of-concept study samples revealed a significantly (p = 0.006) higher concentration of docosatetraenoyl ethanolamide in concentrate users (300 ± 13 pg/mL) compared to flower users (252 ± 11 pg/mL). A robust, sensitive high-throughput assay for the quantitation of 14 endocannabinoids and congeners was successfully validated. Our study showed that it is mandatory to (A) appropriately stabilize samples and (B) separate and separately quantify 1-AG and 2-AG; otherwise, study results are unreliable. The analysis of study samples from Cannabis flower users versus Cannabis concentrate users revealed higher levels of docosatetraenoyl ethanolamide and anandamide (n.s.) in high THC concentrate users in accordance with the existing literature, supporting the validity of the assay measurements.

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Funding

Funding for this study was provided by grants from the National Institutes of Health (DA039707 to Dr. Hutchison) and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (96947 to Dr. Bidwell). The funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Cristina Sempio, Jelena Klawitter, Matthew Jackson, Francesca Freni, Ryan Shillingburg, Uwe Christians & Jost Klawitter

  2. Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Francesca Freni

  3. Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Kent Hutchison, L. Cinnamon Bidwell & Jost Klawitter

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Kent Hutchison & Jost Klawitter

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  1. Cristina Sempio
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Correspondence to Jost Klawitter.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Clinical samples

The clinical study was approved by the University of Colorado Boulder Institutional Review Board and the primary outcomes have been published previously [27]. The study was registered as an observational study in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03522103).

Source of biological material

Blank human K2EDTA plasma was received from Bioreclamation IVT (Westbury, NY, USA) and charcoal-stripped human plasma was received from BioCheMed (Winchester, VA, USA).

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Sempio, C., Klawitter, J., Jackson, M. et al. Analysis of 14 endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid congeners in human plasma using column switching high-performance atmospheric pressure chemical ionization liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 3381–3392 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03280-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03280-0

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