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Cannabix’s MSBS marijuana breathalyzer technology advances quantification of THC in breath

(Globe Newswire) Vancouver — Cannabix Technologies Inc. developer of marijuana and alcohol breath testing devices is pleased to report that its Mass Spectrometer Breath Sampler (MSBS) technology along with the Breath Collection Unit (BCU) have been used to quantify delta-9 THC levels from smoking and edibles in humans.

This emerging capability is a significant milestone and a major leap forward in the arena of drug testing. Virtually all levels of law enforcement, government, and industry have an interest in quantifying THC levels in breath in an efficient and reliable manner which will enable the ability to correlate breath concentrations with established blood levels.

Cannabix has been focused on developing the MSBS as a simple effective way to test for recent use of marijuana and to confirm presence of delta-9 THC in breath using gold-standard mass spectrometry (MS). Over recent months, the Company has developed the capability to quantify delta-9 THC in breath samples using Cannabix’s proprietary technology.

Highlights and updates

— The ability to efficiently and reliably quantify THC in breath has been a long-standing goal of researchers and industry and holds potentially wide raging benefits to society.

—  Cannabix scientists have quantified delta-9 THC in human breath samples using proprietary hardware and methods.

— Cannabix scientists are using deuterated delta-9 THC (THC-D3) as an internal standard to generate a calibration curve for THC quantification in breath samples (ng/cartridge). Currently, a limit of detection and limit of quantification have been achieved with human subjects in the low picogram range. This allows detection of THC from smoking and edibles up to 4+ hours after consumption.

— Experiments at Cannabix’s lab have been conducted using the BCU for sample collection and MSBS front-end hardware interfaced with a Thermo TSQ Quantum Ultra triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer for sample analyzation.

— In late August, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk, Schedule III controlled substance, from its current Schedule I status. If the reclassification is accepted, it can be reasonably expected that even more cannabis-based pharmaceutical and recreational products will be available to the public which further increases the need for THC testing technology for public safety purposes.