Rapid screening of commercial CBD oils by heat-assisted dielectric barrier discharge ionization (HA-DBDI) mass spectrometry and correlation-based fingerprinting

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the cannabidiol (CBD) market has created a need for efficient analytical methods to assess product quality and authenticity. Traditional chromatographic techniques, while accurate, require extensive sample preparation and are unsuitable for high-throughput screening. This study presents a heat-assisted dielectric barrier discharge ionization mass spectrometry (HA-DBDI-MS) approach combined with correlation-based fingerprinting for the rapid grouping of commercial CBD oils. The integrated heating element facilitates thermal desorption of semi-volatile organic compounds from viscous oil matrices, addressing a limitation in plasma-based ambient ionization. A systematic data processing workflow was implemented to mitigate inherent signal variability through spectral averaging and total ion current normalization. The methodology was evaluated using cannabinoid reference standards and commercial CBD oil samples with varying concentrations, spectrum types, and formulations. Pearson correlation analysis of the normalized spectral fingerprints revealed quantitative relationships consistent with product characteristics, including CBD concentration and spectrum designation. Samples with identical formulation parameters exhibited high correlation (r = 0.98), while products with distinct compositions showed lower similarity values. The results demonstrate that this approach provides rapid preliminary grouping based on overall phytochemical composition, offering a complementary screening tool to conventional quantitative methods for quality control applications in cannabis-derived products.