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Volume 30
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10.3390/molecules30173462
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Isolating and Determining the Structures of Colored Products from the Reactions of Cannabinoids with Fast Blue RR

by
Kayo Nakamura
1,*,
Hikari Nishiguchi
1,
Ryosuke Arai
1,
Riho Hamajima
1,
Hiroko Abe
2,
Akihiko Ishida
3,
Manabu Tokeshi
3,
Kyohei Higashi
1,
Akiyoshi Saitoh
1 and
Hideyo Takahashi
1,*
1
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
2
BioDesign Inc., IB Daiichi-Bld 6th Floor, 3-25-15 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021, Japan
3
Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2025, 30(17), 3462; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173462
Submission received: 26 July 2025 / Revised: 19 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 22 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Analytical Techniques in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Although cannabis is used in a wide range of fields, including medicine and pharmacology, its use is prohibited in Japan because it contains D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (D9-THC), a compound that exhibits narcotic effects. While cannabis is primarily detected via color-based screening methods at crime scenes, the reaction products and mechanisms associated with these screening methods have not been fully elucidated. To address this issue, the colored products were isolated via the diazo-coupling reactions of the major cannabinoids (cannabidiol, cannabinol, and D9-THC) in cannabis with the Fast Blue RR diazonium salt, and their structures were determined using NMR spectroscopy. As expected, azo compound 2 was formed from cannabidiol, whereas cannabinol and D9-THC produced quinoneimines 3 and 4, respectively. This study is expected to lead to the future development of more sensitive color-based reagents that produce fewer false positives.
Keywords: cannabis; color reaction; diazo coupling; Fast Blue RR; cannabinoid; cannabidiol; cannabinol; D9-tetrahydrocannabinol cannabis; color reaction; diazo coupling; Fast Blue RR; cannabinoid; cannabidiol; cannabinol; D9-tetrahydrocannabinol

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Nakamura, K.; Nishiguchi, H.; Arai, R.; Hamajima, R.; Abe, H.; Ishida, A.; Tokeshi, M.; Higashi, K.; Saitoh, A.; Takahashi, H. Isolating and Determining the Structures of Colored Products from the Reactions of Cannabinoids with Fast Blue RR. Molecules 2025, 30, 3462. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173462

AMA Style

Nakamura K, Nishiguchi H, Arai R, Hamajima R, Abe H, Ishida A, Tokeshi M, Higashi K, Saitoh A, Takahashi H. Isolating and Determining the Structures of Colored Products from the Reactions of Cannabinoids with Fast Blue RR. Molecules. 2025; 30(17):3462. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173462

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nakamura, Kayo, Hikari Nishiguchi, Ryosuke Arai, Riho Hamajima, Hiroko Abe, Akihiko Ishida, Manabu Tokeshi, Kyohei Higashi, Akiyoshi Saitoh, and Hideyo Takahashi. 2025. "Isolating and Determining the Structures of Colored Products from the Reactions of Cannabinoids with Fast Blue RR" Molecules 30, no. 17: 3462. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173462

APA Style

Nakamura, K., Nishiguchi, H., Arai, R., Hamajima, R., Abe, H., Ishida, A., Tokeshi, M., Higashi, K., Saitoh, A., & Takahashi, H. (2025). Isolating and Determining the Structures of Colored Products from the Reactions of Cannabinoids with Fast Blue RR. Molecules, 30(17), 3462. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173462

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