To test THC/CBD levels, a small amount of cannabis is mixed with a test fluid and the mixture is dropped by pipette on to a sheet of glass coated with a layer of silica called a TLC plate. The TLC plate is placed in a pool of developing solvent with only the bottom portion of the plate in the solvent. In the mobile phase, the developing solvent or carrier fluid rises slowly up the TLC plate by capillary action. As the solvent moves upward on the TLC plate, it passes through the cannabis test droplet.

Each component of the test droplet will differ insolubility and in absorption. The various
components will be carried up the TLC plate, some farther than others. The TLC plate is removed from the developing solvent when the solvent reaches the top of the plate. The TLC plate is allowed to dry for three minutes and is then sprayed with dye providing a visual profile of the test droplet components. Each cannabinoid appears as a specific color in a distinct location on the TLC plate.

Our THC/CBD Test Kit provides visual color indicators for the substances contained in your cannabis products. The kit uses Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and was designed specifically for testing marijuana plants and oils.

Comparison of TLC, GC, and HPLC

The Cannalytics Test Kit is a “Thin Layer Chromatography” testing kit designed specifically for testing medical marijuana. It is a patent-pending and registered product and was originally certified by the University of Leiden in Amsterdam.

The kit has been used for years in the Netherlands in coffee houses and dispensaries but never took off for individual users in  Europe, especially since medical marijuana is not an issue there.

This kit will provide you with visual color indicators for the THC, THCV, CBD, CBC, CBG, CBN substances and more in cannabis. We recommend that you run a few tests and use the averages of the results, as your baseline. There is testing for an estimated THC % and CBD% with visual chronograph indicators, and testing for acids.

**It works on plant material as well as oils and edibles.

LABORATORY TESTING

Labs do different types of testing- Gas chromatography (GC),  High-performance liquid chromatography,(HPLC) and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) (* which is the method that we provide*).

They first have to be DEA approved to not be illegal, next to the products they test have to be by registered growers, finally, the BIG ONE is that their testing has not been proven to be any better than these kits, they have a variance in their results, the same plant can be tested 3 times and get 3 different results, also if you took the same sample to three different labs you would get three different results.

Therefore, this test kit is no better or worse than labs based on our research. We believe that Labs see themselves as the only game in town and will try and require that suppliers of medical marijuana use their high priced un-proven methods by getting government support they will position themselves as the only legal way of testing medical marijuana. Without another type of test, suppliers will be required to pay high prices for testing in Labs which may be hard to reach and still get varied results, when they can do in-house testing at a fraction of the cost and trouble.

Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) – (Type of Kit we offer)

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a widely-used chromatography technique used to separate chemical compounds. It involves a stationary phase consisting of a thin layer of adsorbent material, usually silica gel, aluminium oxide, or cellulose immobilized onto a flat, inert carrier sheet. A liquid phase consisting of the solution to be separated dissolved in an appropriate solvent is drawn through the plate via capillary action, separating the experimental solution, whereas TLC can be configured for quantitative work, in general, it is primarily used in identification tests.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

High-performance liquid chromatography is a form of column chromatography used frequently in analytical chemistry. HPLC is used to separate components of a mixture by using a variety of chemical interactions between the compounds within the substance being analyzed and the chromatography column.

Gas Chromatography (GC)

A Gas Chromatograph is a chemical analysis instrument used for separating volatile and semi-volatile compounds in a complex sample. The stationary phase in GC is contained in a narrow – bored column and the mobile phase is a gas. The volatile and semi-volatile components of a sample mixture are separated  based on their varying partition behavior between the mobile phase and the stationary

SO WE PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE

It is a great step toward providing a more well-balanced product that provides relief for medical marijuana patients and a way for growers to analyze their products during production to produce these products, and an alternative to formal laboratory testing.