Cameron Rambone | Global Product Specialist

Potency, Purity and Identity Testing of Cannabis/Hemp

IMPORTANCE OF TESTING IN THE CANNABIS AND HEMP INDUSTRY

In the emerging markets of the cannabis and hemp industry, testing for identity and potency is a key aspect of regulatory compliance. Whether it's botanical identification of the plants themselves (identity) or the strength of the ingredients and active ingredients in finished products and supplements (potency), the ability to grind and homogenize the sample without the risk of cross-contamination is a major challenge to perform an accurate analysis.

USE OF TUBE MILL CONTROL AND MT40 GRINDING CHAMBERS

Tube Mill control and MT40 grinding chambers are used to grind dry and whole plant material such as flowers, leaves, stems, bark, fruits, seeds and roots. The end product is a very fine and uniform powder. When crushing sugary fruits or edible gummy bears, the material becomes a sticky mass with a gummy texture. In this case, the sample is frozen with liquid nitrogen before the grinding chamber is used. The Tube Mill Control and MT40 chambers offer a cross-contamination-free, single-use solution for high sample throughput.

FUTURE APPLICATIONS IN THE INDUSTRY

As plants are very complex, their study requires not only a combination of different analytical techniques, but also the expertise of when and how to use them correctly. As cannabis and hemp research is an ever-growing market, botanical research analysis labs will continue to have a good opportunity to use IKA's disposable shredding and consumable products as a fast, affordable and cross-contamination-free homogenization tool in the industry.