Excellence in Cannabis Testing Through Innovative Tech Solutions

By Ini Afia for Slingr Labs

When it comes to lab management, it’s easy to say, “Been there, done that.” But an intelligent person knows that every day presents another opportunity to learn and grow. Through my work as a microbiologist, analytical chemist, and lab director with a Master of Science degree, I have more than 17 years of experience seeing this concept at play in the field. 

Recently, the world has been both enthusiastic and terrified of AI. However, this is a crucial example of how technology has inevitable evolutions. What remains to be seen is how humans will integrate technological advances into their daily lives to make the world a better place.

I have seen firsthand how new technology can drastically improve lab operations – including increased efficiency, accuracy, and robustness. There are many resources available to business owners and lab employees that can make routine operations much more efficient. Here are a few examples:

Enhancing Lab Operations through Track and Trace Systems

You might immediately think of the system your state regulatory agency uses (for example, METRC), but I'm referring to the internal sample track-and-trace system in laboratories. 

To speak frankly, many cannabis labs are unsophisticated when it comes to results traceability and sample organization. You might have noticed that barcodes and RFID tags are used when you pick up compliance samples from a cultivator or distributor, but have you considered how you can use them to improve your lab processes? 

Your lab most likely uses storage bins with labeling systems. This leads to analysts searching and fumbling for samples. How much productivity do you lose when that happens? I implore you to get RFID tags or similar technology to label bins and samples and create locations. 

Couple that with an innovative LIMS, and suddenly you have a “virtual warehouse.” For instance, Slingr is designed to integrate with other software platforms, making your lab operations easier than ever. This means that items can be located instantaneously, even if they are misplaced. Your efficiency and compliance just increased 1,000-fold. It also allows you to quickly swap to new features to allow labs the ability to address the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

Revolutionizing Cannabis Lab Operations with Robotics

The most time-consuming part of cannabis lab operations is performing dilution and pipetting.  Cannabis analysis can be unpredictable in unorganized lab environments. Imagine the myriad of matrices that cannabis can be infused with (from toothpicks to whole mattresses). This can create a nightmare for specific workflows as analysts feel they are in a constant method development phase with each new sample. This is where equipment such as barcode-reading liquid handler robots can come into play. Given the complex matrices I have just noted, there are still stable workflows where liquid-handling robots can expedite your processes. 

For example, these robots are able to do the final step dilution and pipet the extracted product into instrument vials. Vials can then be capped by the robot and placed in trays ready for analysis. With the appropriate LIMS system, you can integrate the robot operations directly so that volumes, containers, and concentrations are all recorded traceably with an instrument sequence generated. This information can then be transferred into the instrument.  

All that is left is for a technician to place the tray of samples into the appropriate instrument location and initiate the sequence. From my experience, the initial cost and time investment for robotics are generally high, but compared to the headcount, errors or repeated analyses, and eventual customer dissatisfaction, the return on investment (ROI) becomes very favorable.

Elevating Cannabis Lab Production with Artificial Intelligence

At this point, this is almost becoming a catchphrase for all things technologically advanced. So you ask, how can AI help my cannabis testing lab? Well, there are literally hundreds of ways, but let’s focus on analytics. AI is all about machine learning and employing those lessons to improve your business. An example is Turn Around Time (TAT), a metric that many labs closely monitor, especially about their competitors. You’d be surprised that cannabis labs know more about their competitor’s TAT than they do their own. In fact, most do not even calculate it correctly.

AI that is integrated into a LIMS system such as Slingr, can not only analyze your TAT but can also help you understand more about optimizing your own process. For example,  you can focus on areas for improvement and lab bottlenecks to increase your TAT and become more competitive. And this is just scratching the surface. 

There are innumerable ways you can add AI into your workflow, and chances are that you already are, but just not aware of it. Most certainly your LIMS provider is already using it in some manner. Imagine a few years from now when AI is more robust and mainstream in the workplace. You don’t want to be left behind trying to catch up.

Importance of Streamlining Cannabis Lab Operations with Technology

So, what’s the moral of the story here? The cannabis testing laboratory is unlike other laboratories as it has complexities in regulatory standards, matrices, and customer base. Your choice of a LIMS provider is the biggest decision you can make to influence the efficiency of your operations. Make sure your provider integrates with the myriad of technological resources available to positively aid your workflow. 

The cannabis lab operator must use every resource in their toolbelt to keep a competitive edge in an ever-evolving landscape. Technology is a big hammer in that toolbelt. If you know even the smallest bit about tools, there is hardly anything that a good hammer can’t fix!

Ini Afia is an accomplished scientist with over 17 years of experience in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cannabis industries, holding a Master's from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has played pivotal roles in biotech firms such as Abbott Labs and has led Cannasafe to become a top cannabis testing lab in California. Afia is also actively involved in shaping industry standards through his work with ASTM and various scientific conferences, and co-founded Cannsultation to improve laboratory practices.