In a partnership with Northern Michigan University (NMU), Shimadzu Scientific Instruments is establishing the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medical Plant Sciences and donating $851,000 worth of instrumentation to the first-of-its-kind program.
Related: CBD is the New Green
The rigorous medicinal plant chemistry program, called the Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research and Quality of Life, will allow students and faculty to conduct research with equipment that plays an important part in ensuring product quality and safety.
Previously: Puff, Puff, Forecast: Nielsen, Headset Team Up for Cannabis Insights
The instruments provided by Shimadzu include multiple mass spectrometers: gas and liquid chromatography (GC-MS and LC-MS/MS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS).
The applications of Shimadzu’s testing solutions for cannabis/hemp range from potency testing and terpene profiling to contaminate testing for pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals and mycotoxins/aflatoxins.
“The serious education and research on medicinal plants undertaken in this unique undergraduate program will help to overturn the misinformation and stigma associated with hemp and cannabis as it applies to human and environmental health,” said Scott Kuzdzal, vice president of marketing for Shimadzu Scientific Instruments. “NMU students in the medicinal plant chemistry program now have access to the same level and quality of analytical instrumentation that they will encounter after graduation in commercial, academic and medical research labs.”
“Having access to the same top-caliber equipment they will work on in the industry gives our students a real advantage heading into their careers,” added NMU president Fritz Erickson. “We thank Shimadzu for recognizing Northern's innovative culture, our boldness in launching the medicinal plant chemistry program and the high quality of our faculty and students.”
