Cannabix Technologies and Omega Laboratories Inc. have partnered to deliver innovatative breath testing technologies to customers globally. Omega is an international industry leader in drugs of abuse testing for over twenty years. Omega has multiple federal and international certifications and accreditations for its world class facility and has extensive experience in novel technology for drugs of abuse detection.

Omega Laboratories has state-of-the-art facilities performing accurate, timely and cost-effective analysis of the Cannabix Breath Cartridges. This meticulous approach reinforces Cannabix and Omega’s commitment to delivering accurate and reliable results, maintaining the highest standards of quality and integrity. Samples are collected with the BCU and shipped to a local Omega lab for analysis and reporting. Contact sales today.

Because the field of breath analysis has been devised fairly recently, there are few standardized methods available, and these carry limitations. Existing breath sampling methods rely on adsorption of the analyte of interest, followed by desorption by either heat or solvent extraction. This is then followed by liquid or gas chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis. Many analytes of interest, however, have unique chemical properties, such as low volatility, that result in extremely low collection efficiencies using these methods.

The Cannabix Mass Spectrum (MS) Breath Sampler is a novel interface designed for mass spectrometers, optimized for breath collection and ionization, that replaces the chromatography step. It also offers a unique capability for clinical and toxicology laboratories, the ability to analyze nonvolatile species in breath, in addition to VOCs, significantly increasing utility and accuracy.

Using current methods, many types of analytes of low volatility are not transferred efficiently. The MS Breath Sampler is different from standard thermal desorption in that the breath aerosol itself is used as a carrier, minimizing sample loss throughout the system.

The MS Breath Sampler is used in lieu of the standard commercial ionization source on a mass spectrometer and replaces chromatography. It contains its own heaters and ionizer, optimized to focus, preconcentrate, and control desolvation of aerosol droplets, for maximum sensitivity. Analysis is complete within seconds, rather than the hours needed for chromatography, and no sample preparation is needed.

FAIMS is an emerging technology, under developement by Cannabix. There are thousands of different molecules present in human breath, and those associated with recent cannabis use are often far from the most abundant compounds present, especially when other compounds, such as nicotine, are also consumed.  

Cannabix has been on the cutting edge in technological innovation in overcoming the challenges associated with analyte detection in breath. When a molecule is ionized and exposed to a high electric field, its movement, or ion mobility, changes uniquely for each type of ion, based on its mass, shape, and charge.¹ The Cannabix FAIMS device, based on high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), capitalizes on this phenomenon, acting as a filter which allows a single type of ion of interest, in our case, ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol at a time to be isolated from background and detected.

The Cannabix FAIMS device is under development to operate both independently or coupled in tandem directly to a mass spectrometer (MS), used in forensic labs. MS is considered the gold standard in toxicology for the analysis of drugs, poisons, and metabolites, due to its superior specificity and sensitivity. The Cannabix FAIMS device is used in combination with the Breath Collection Unit. The Cannabix FAIMS device is at the prototype stage.