A Day in the Life of Curtis Peterson II: Our Cannabinoid Testing HPLC

Curtis Peterson II

At Triverity Analytical, our equipment doesn’t just sit quietly in the background — each instrument plays a vital role in helping us deliver accurate, trusted cannabis testing data. One of our most important team members? Curtis Peterson II, our High Performance Liquid Chromatography system — or HPLC for short.

Yes, we gave him a name. Yes, he earned it.

Today, we're taking you inside a day in the life of Curtis, to show you how this powerhouse of precision helps us analyze cannabinoid profiles with confidence and clarity.

☀️ 8:00 AM: Morning Check-In with Curtis

When our team arrives at the lab in the morning, Curtis has been hard at work all night. The first task of the day? Reviewing the overnight sequence — a batch of cannabis samples that Curtis analyzed while the rest of us were sleeping.

We dive into the data with fresh eyes, examining:

• Calibration to make sure every result is accurate and traceable

• System suitability checks to confirm Curtis stayed within operating specs

• Chromatograms for each sample to ensuring peak shape and separation

  
  

If something doesn’t look right, we investigate — but most mornings, Curtis delivers clean results, right on schedule. (and he does it all without coffee!)

📊 11:00 AM: Reports, Reviewed and Ready

After Curtis finishes his runs, our laboratory management reviews the data and double-checks for accuracy. Once reviewed, your results are uploaded to the client portal and ready to report.

🧼 12:00 AM: Daily Clean & Calibration

Between sample batches, Curtis gets flushed clean, and we start all over again.

🧪 3:00 PM: Sample In, Science On

Before Curtis can do his job, our team carefully prepares each sample to ensure consistency and accuracy. Depending on the product — whether it’s raw flower, concentrate, or edible — we follow a validated process to extract cannabinoids into a liquid solution that is suitable for HPLC analysis.

💤 5:00 PM: Prep for the Next Night

As the lab winds down, Curtis gets set up for his next overnight sequence. Our analysts pile on the standards and samples, load the queue, and perform a final round of checks. Then, the lights dim and Curtis gets to work — again.

🌙 10:00 PM–6:00 AM: Night Owl Mode

Long after the lab has gone quiet for the evening, Curtis Peterson II is just getting into his groove.

While we sleep, Curtis works steadily, analyzing each sample with the same precision and care he’s known for. Throughout the night, he separates cannabinoids, detects them with his built-in UV detector, and quietly builds a stream of data that will be ready and waiting by morning.

Running samples overnight lets us maximize efficiency and turn results around faster — without ever cutting corners on quality. For Curtis, night shift isn’t a chore — it’s where he shines.

🔬 What Happens Inside Curtis?

Let’s break it down:

1. Injection The liquid sample is introduced into a stream of solvent flowing through a thin tube.

2. Separation The separation happens in a thin metal cylinder. This "column" is packed with a material that interacts differently with each cannabinoid. As the sample moves through, compounds like THCA, Δ9-THC, CBDA, and others separate based on their unique chemistry.

3. Detection As each compound exits the column, it's detected by UV absorbance. The output is a chromatogram — a graph with peaks representing each cannabinoid, like a fingerprint of your product.

4. Quantification Curtis doesn’t just detect — he quantifies. Using calibration standards, he calculates the exact concentration of each cannabinoid in your sample.

🌿 Why We Use HPLC for Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids exist in both neutral and acidic forms — like THC and THCA. Most cannabis products contain a mix of these forms.

Unlike Gas Chromatography (GC), HPLC doesn’t apply heat, so acidic cannabinoids remain intact during analysis. That means we can give you an accurate look at your product's natural chemical profile — the full picture.

In Curtis We Trust.

From raw flower to refined concentrates and ingestible matrices, Curtis helps us deliver results that matter — and he does it with scientific style.

Got questions about our cannabinoid testing methods or want to meet Curtis Peterson II in person (well, sort of)? Give us a call at (605)-503-1114 — we’re always happy to talk cannabis science.