Understanding levels of in utero drug exposure is important to properly customize the immediate, as well as ongoing, medical and social management needs of affected newborns. Here, we present the development of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the detection and quantification of 4 cannabinoid analytes in two neonatal matrices. The analytes targeted were Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinal (THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCA), 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC), and cannabinol (CBN). The matrices analyzed were umbilical cord tissue and meconium. A fifth analyte, cannabidiol (CBD), was also detected uniquely in meconium. Extracts were analyzed by LC-MS/MS in negative electrospray ionization mode.

Paired meconium and umbilical cord samples (i.e., one specimen from each matrix collected from each single birth, n = 46 pairs) were tested to evaluate concentration and metabolite profiles. THCA was detected in all positive (containing one or more analytes) meconium samples (n = 32). CBN, THC, 11-OH-THC, and CBD were present in 57% (n = 26), 39% (n = 18), 24% (n = 11), and 20% (n = 9), respectively. Concentrations were lower in the umbilical cord samples for all analytes (i.e., 0.27–537 ng/g for meconium and 0.1–9 ng/g for umbilical cord). In umbilical cord THCA was also detected in all positive samples (n = 19) while THC, CBN, and 11-OH-THC were present in 24% (n = 11), 17% (n = 8), and 11% (n = 5), respectively. Testing neonatal matrices for cannabinoids could be used to support studies designed to detect newborns exposed to cannabis in utero, as well as provide data that could be examined for correlations with clinical and social outcomes.

了解子宫内药物暴露水平对于正确定制受影响新生儿的即时和持续医疗和社会管理需求非常重要。在这里，我们介绍了一种液相色谱-串联质谱 (LC-MS/MS) 方法的开发，用于检测和定量两种新生儿基质中的 4 种大麻素分析物。目标分析物是 Δ ^9-四氢大麻醛 (THC)、11-nor-9-羧基-THC (THCA)、11-羟基-THC (11-OH-THC) 和大麻酚 (CBN)。分析的基质是脐带组织和胎粪。第五种分析物大麻二酚 (CBD) 在胎粪中也被独特地检测到。在负电喷雾电离模式下通过 LC-MS/MS 分析提取物。

测试配对的胎粪和脐带样本（即，从每个单胎收集的每个基质中提取一个样本，n = 46 对）以评估浓度和代谢物谱。在所有阳性（含有一种或多种分析物）胎粪样品（n = 32）中检测到 THCA。CBN、THC、11-OH-THC 和 CBD 分别占 57% (n = 26)、39% (n = 18)、24% (n = 11) 和 20% (n = 9)。脐带样品中所有分析物的浓度都较低（即胎粪为 0.27-537 ng/g，脐带为 0.1-9 ng/g）。在脐带中，所有阳性样本 (n = 19) 中也检测到 THCA，而 THC、CBN 和 11-OH-THC 存在于 24% (n = 11)、17% (n = 8) 和 11% ( n = 5)，分别。大麻素的新生儿基质测试可用于支持旨在检测接触大麻的新生儿的研究在子宫内，以及提供可以检查与临床和社会结果的相关性的数据。