General Chemistry
The Chemists and Technicians in this department provides Moisture and Water Activity Testing, Cannabinoid Profiling, Foreign Matter Screening, Terpene Profiling, and Residual Solvents Screening. This department is home to multiple HPLCs, GC-MS, GC-FIDs, Moisture Analyzers, and Water Activity Meters.
Microbial
The Microbiologists in this department provide screening for Microbiological Impurities. This department is home to a state-of-the-art PathogenDx system, which utilizes DNA-based testing rather than the traditional “plate and wait” method. This means our Microbiologists are analyzing what is actively alive on the product, rather than what might grow on it in the future. Additionally, it cuts down the testing time significantly while being more accurate. In the event that a failing analyte is suspected, the sample is retested prior to reporting.
Pesticides & Mycotoxins
The Chemists in this department provide screening for thirteen pesticides, including Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and Ochratoxin A content. Pesticide screening in Oklahoma cannabis is important as pesticides and other chemicals used on cannabis plants can be harmful to human health if they are not properly monitored and controlled.
This department is home to two Triple-Quadrupole LC-MS/MS instruments.
If a primary sample fails initial analysis, the reserve sample is automatically tested two times to ensure a failing result.
Heavy Metals
The Chemists and Technicians in our Heavy Metals department are responsible for testing and analyzing cannabis products for heavy metal contamination. Examples of heavy metals include lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Excessive exposure to heavy metals can be harmful to human health, so it is important to ensure that cannabis products do not contain excessive levels of heavy metals.
OKCTL has three ICP-MS instruments for analyzing samples for heavy metals.
Any primary sample that fails for heavy metals contamination is automatically retested two times from the reserve sample.
Quality
The specialists in this department are tasked with confirming accuracy, traceability, reproducibility, and standardization. Our Quality Assurance Department ensures regular audits, gauge studies, and blind testing studies are conducted and analyzed for abnormalities. Additionally, each individual department has a Quality Control Member, a liaison who ensures that the appropriate duplicates, blanks, and spikes are ran throughout each testing run so that any abnormalities are isolated and corrected. This department is home to the individuals who generate your final Certificate of Analysis, keep pace with evolving regulations, and ensure compliance for both OMMA and ISO standards.