Streamlining Contaminant Testing of Medical Marijuana

Talon Analytical, a cannabis testing laboratory in Long Island, New York, is using Integra Biosciences’ ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot with 8 channel VIAFLO electronic pipettes to aid contaminant testing of hemp, CBD, and medical cannabis products. The instruments are integral to the company’s workflow, streamlining its testing process and ensuring robust and reliable processing.

The potency of medical marijuana products can vary significantly between manufacturers, and the cannabis plant itself is a hyperaccumulator, absorbing and retaining toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides from the soil in which it grows. Talon Analytical was founded in 2019 to perform routine testing of cannabis-based medical products for the numerous companies involved in medicinal marijuana production across the state. It uses the ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot in combination with 1250 μl and 300 μl 8 channel VIAFLO electronic pipettes to provide precise dilution of extracted samples for HPLC analysis.

The company chose the ASSIST PLUS to streamline its workflow and ensure robust and reliable sample dilutions. Brynn Vitrano-Stocker, Quality Manager at Talon Analytical, explained: “Previously, we carried out all our dilutions by hand, which was prone to manual error and extremely time consuming. Now we have the ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot, our entire pipetting takes only eight minutes, which means we can process more samples every day and keep up with the increasing demand for testing.”

Chelsea Bissondayal, Head Analyst, added: “The ASSIST PLUS and VIAFLO electronic pipettes consistently lead to the highly precise and accurate results that manufacturers and the government require. This means that we don’t have to waste time or materials repeating tests. The instruments also significantly speed up our workflow and improve the lab’s overall throughput.”

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