Hexahydrocannabinol intoxication – a challenge for toxicological analysis

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00098892%3A_____%2F24%3A10159640" target="_blank" >RIV/00098892:_____/24:10159640 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Hexahydrocannabinol intoxication – a challenge for toxicological analysis

Original language description

Hexahydrocannabinol (HAC) is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid. A trace amount of HHC occurs naturally in cannabis plants (Cannabis). HHC is usually produced synthetically from cannabidiol, less commonly from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). HHC-containing products were sold in the Czech Republic without restrictions until early March 2024 as a substitute for cannabis and THC-containing products in several very attractive branded and unbranded products. In several cases, these products have caused severe user intoxication. From a clinical and a forensic point of view, it was necessary to develop selective and sensitive methods for the detection and determination of HHC in biological materials, namely blood serum and urine. GC-MS/MS and LC-HRMS methods were used to identify and determine HHC and its metabolites for clinical and forensic purposes. The developed GC-MS/MS method allows separation, identification, and sensitive determination of HHC with common cannabinoids such as THC, 11-OH-THC, and THC-COOH in blood serum after extraction and derivatization. GC-MS/MS also exhibit excellent selectivity for the resolution of A- and S-HHC isomers. The resolution of R- and S- isomers of HHC in blood serum is important because A-HHC is the significantly more physiologically active isomer, which is important from a clinical but mainly from a forensic point of view for the interpretation of the severity of intoxication and the impairment. LC-HRMS method allows fast and simple separation and identification of HHC and common metabolites in blood serum and urine. Protein precipitation was employed as the sample preparation method in this case. On the other hand, LC-HRMS did not allow the separation of HHC isomers. The advantage of the LC-HRMS method compared to the GC-MS/MS method is the possibility of identifying HHC metabolites even in cases where HHC is no longer present in detectable amounts in blood serum or urine.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_ost - Miscellaneous article in a specialist periodical

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30501 - Forensic science

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Folia Societatis Medicinae Legalis Slovacae

ISSN

1338-4589

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

14

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

SK - SLOVAKIA

Number of pages

6

Pages from-to

2-7

UT code for WoS article

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EID of the result in the Scopus database

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