Citation

Yu H, Lee H, Cheong J, Woo SW, Oh J, Oh HK, Lee JH, Zheng H, Castro CM, Yoo YE, Kim MG, Cheon J, Weissleder R, Lee H. Sci. Transl. Med. 2021; 13(616): eabe2352.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Association for the Advancement of Science)

DOI

10.1126/scitranslmed.abe2352

PMID

34669441

PMCID

PMC9126021

Abstract

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, impairs cognitive and motor function in a concentration-dependent fashion. Drug testing is commonly performed for employment and law enforcement purposes; however, available tests produce low-sensitive binary results (lateral flow assays) or have long turnaround (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). To enable on-site THC quantification in minutes, we developed a rapid assay for oral THC analysis called EPOCH, express probe for on-site cannabis inhalation. EPOCH features distinctive sensor design such as a radial membrane and transmission optics, all contained in a compact cartridge. This integrated approach permitted assay completion within 5 minutes with a detection limit of 0.17 ng/mL THC, which is below the regulatory guideline (1 ng/mL). As a proof of concept for field testing, we applied EPOCH to assess oral fluid samples from cannabis users (n = 43) and controls (n = 43). EPOCH detected oral THC in all specimens from cannabis smokers (median concentration, 478 ng/mL) and THC-infused food consumers. Longitudinal monitoring showed a fast drop in THC concentrations within the first 6 hours of cannabis smoking (half-life, 1.4 hours)., The express probe for on-site cannabis inhalation (EPOCH) system is able to quantitates tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations in oral fluid.

Language: en