Resolution of co-eluting compounds of Cannabis Sativa in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry detection with Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares

Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC x GC/qMS) analysis of Cannabis sativa extracts shows a high complexity due to the large variety of terpenes and cannabinoids and to the fact that the complete resolution of the peaks is not straightforwardly achieved. In order to support the resolution of the co-eluted peaks in the sesquiterpene and the cannabinoid chromatographic region the combination of Multivariate Curve Resolution and Alternating Least Squares algorithms was satisfactorily applied. As a result, four co-eluting areas were totally resolved in the sesquiterpene region and one in the cannabinoid region in different samples of Cannabis sativa. The comparison of the mass spectral profiles obtained for each resolved peak with theoretical mass spectra allowed the identification of some of the co-eluted peaks. Finally, the classification of the studied samples was achieved based on the relative concentrations of the resolved peaks. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.