Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay for delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol as applied to early discrimination of Cannabis sativa plants.

In the cultivations of Cannabis, it is important to be able to distinguish fiber-type plants from drug-type plants by an easy observation of their phenotype. This study required the screening of many samples for their cannabinoid content. A simple and highly sensitive time-resolved fluoroimmunological method was developed for the determination of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in the leaf extracts. The useful range of the calibration curve was between 10 pg and 25 ng of standard. Matrix effects were minimized by a high dilution of samples.