A solvent-saving extraction can recover the target cannabinoids while leaving a separate measurement problem. In a 2024 hemp-method study, the researchers found a strong matrix effect and changed the calibration design to account for it.
Mastellone and colleagues compared eutectic solvents for an ultrasound-assisted extraction. Their selected procedure used 100 µL of eutectic solvent and 2 mL of water before UHPLC with photodiode-array detection. They worked with preflowering aerial material, inflorescences and one commercial CBD oil. To prepare a blank for matrix-matched standards, they exhaustively extracted the marker analytes from the relevant material. That gave them a way to compare a standard in the sample background with a standard in solvent alone.
Accuracy in the authors’ validation ranged from 82% to 118%. The range belongs to the conditions and matrices studied. When reviewing a similar result, check how the laboratory prepared the blank, which products were represented by its standards and what accuracy the laboratory achieved near the reported concentration. Solvent consumption answers an environmental question. Matrix-specific validation answers a measurement question.