A parameter table copied from a catalogue page tells a laboratory almost nothing on its own. What matters is the second step: translating each entry into a decision about weighing, solvent choice, method setup or storage. The table below treats cannabidiol that way, and the commentary that follows explains the reasoning behind each line.
| Parameter | Value | What follows from it at the bench |
|---|---|---|
| Registry number | CAS 13956-29-1 | The only identifier safe to use when ordering or cross-checking a certificate; trade names and abbreviations are not unique. |
| Molecular formula | C21H30O2 | Shared with isomeric cannabinoids, so elemental composition alone never confirms identity. |
| Formula weight | 314.5 | Basis for every molarity calculation; a solution prepared by mass depends on it and on the purity stated for the lot. |
| Compound class | Resorcinolic phytocannabinoid | Places the material among meta-dihydroxy aromatics, which sets expectations for oxidation behaviour. |
| Ring architecture | Aromatic ring and monoterpene ring, not fused through oxygen | The open arrangement is what distinguishes this scaffold from pyran-type cannabinoids in structure assignment. |
| Functional groups | Two free phenolic hydroxyls, one terpene double bond, one isopropenyl group | Three independent sites sensitive to oxidants, light and strong acid; they define the storage regime. |
| Stereochemistry | Two stereocentres; the material of natural origin is a single enantiomer | An achiral separation cannot demonstrate enantiomeric identity; a chiral method is required for that question. |
| Acid sensitivity | Cyclisation under strongly acidic conditions is documented | Acidic sample preparation can generate a second component and turn a clean assay into a mixture. |
| Supplied formats | Neat solid, or a standard solution such as 1 mg/ml in methanol | Solution standards remove the weighing step for chromatography; neat solids suit gravimetric preparation of stocks. |
Start with the registry number, because it is the only entry in the table that is truly unambiguous. Names circulating in trade documents are abbreviated, translated and occasionally applied to related compounds, whereas the registry number resolves to one substance. When a delivery note and a certificate disagree, the registry number is the field that decides which of them describes the material in front of you. See also our laboratory reagent: ALCAR / Acetyl-L-Carnitin – Reinheit ≥ 99% Nettoge.
The molecular formula deserves the opposite treatment: it is useful and insufficient at the same time. Several cannabinoids share the composition C21H30O2, so a mass spectrum consistent with that formula narrows the field without closing it. Confirmation comes from retention behaviour against a reference standard, from fragmentation pattern, or from spectroscopic assignment, and a laboratory that stops at the formula has verified the elemental count rather than the substance.
Formula weight enters every calculation in which a mass becomes a concentration. The figure of 314.5 is a property of the pure compound, so a stock prepared from a lot of stated purity has to be corrected accordingly, and the correction has to be written down at the moment it is applied. Recalculating it months later from a half-remembered assay figure is how quiet errors enter a method file.
The structural entries explain the storage regime rather than decorating the table. Two free phenolic hydroxyls make the material susceptible to oxidation, which shows up first as darkening; the terpene double bond and the isopropenyl group add further sites that oxidants and light can reach. None of this makes the compound unstable in ordinary handling, but it does mean that an opened container left in daylight is a different material after a few months than the one described on the certificate. See also our catalogue listing: Phenylpiracetam / Fenylopiracetam, Czystość ≥ 99%,.
Stereochemistry is the entry most often skipped and the one that most often invalidates a conclusion. Two stereocentres mean that enantiomers exist and that they are indistinguishable by ordinary reversed-phase chromatography, by molecular mass and by most routine spectroscopy. If the question being asked concerns enantiomeric identity or purity, the method must be chiral from the start; retrofitting that answer to achiral data is not possible.
Acid sensitivity translates directly into sample preparation practice. Since the unfused scaffold is known to cyclise under strongly acidic conditions, acidified extraction solvents, residual acid in glassware and low-pH mobile phases all become variables in the result. Where an acidic step cannot be avoided, its contribution belongs in the method validation rather than in a footnote.
The last line concerns the format in which the material arrives. A neat solid gives full freedom in preparing stocks and demands accurate weighing of a small mass; a ready standard solution removes that step and instead makes the solvent, the container and the storage temperature part of the specification. Neither format is better in the abstract, and the certificate of analysis for the specific lot remains the document that settles what was actually delivered.
See also
- Phenylpiracetam / Fenylopiracetam, Czystość ≥ 99%, 1000mg
- ALCAR / Acetyl-L-Carnitin – Reinheit ≥ 99% Nettogewicht 1000mg.
- Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) ≥ 99% 1000mg.
- Methylene Blue / METHYLENE BLUE. Purity ≥ 99.99% 1000mg.
References
Animal and in vitro studies indexed in PubMed; no human-use guidance is provided here.
- Whitaker LHR Endometriosis: cannabidiol therapy for symptom relief 2024, Trends in pharmacological sciences. PMID 39547915
- Briânis RC Cannabidiol and addiction 2024, International review of neurobiology. PMID 39029990
- Huestis MA Cannabidiol Adverse Effects and Toxicity 2019, Current neuropharmacology. PMID 31161980
- Moreira FA Cannabidiol and epilepsy 2024, International review of neurobiology. PMID 39029983
Intended use. It is not a substance for human use. Veterinary use is equally excluded. Intended use: laboratory work and analytical determination by HPLC and GC-MS. Not a medicine, medical device or food product.
