Rational design, synthesis, and characterization of a solid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) nanoformulation suitable for “microdosing” applications
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Background: This paper highlights the formulation of a solid THC-loaded ingestible prepared from pure THC distillate. A THC ethanol-assisted cannabinoid nanoemulsion (EACNE) was created without the need for specialized emulsification equipment such as a high-pressure homogenizer or a microfluidizer. Stress-testing was performed on the EACNE to evaluate its chemical and colloidal stability under the influence of different environmental factors, encompassing both physical and chemical stressors. Subsequently, the EACNE was converted to a solid powdery material while still retaining its THC potency, and suited for “microdosing” applications. Methods: An ethanol-assisted emulsification method was used to generate a THC nanoemulsion. The EACNE was fully characterized, imaged, and subjected to stress-tests. The EACNE was then mixed with a solid matrix material post facto and lyophilized to create a solid ingestible substance. Upon ball-milling, a dense powdery material was obtained. Flow properties and thermal properties of this material were recorded. Potency of the material was evaluated in triplicate using HPLC and correlated with the potency of the starting EACNE. Results: EACNE had an average lipid droplet size of ca. 190 nm, with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.15, and an average droplet zeta potential of -49±10 mV. The nanoemulsion was colloidally stable for at least 6 weeks, with no meaningful change in cannabinoid potency over the experimental period, as determined by HPLC analysis. The EACNE remained stable when subjected to physical stresses such as heat, freeze/thaw cycles, carbonation, dilution to beverage concentrations, high sucrose concentrations, and a pH range between 5-8. The effect of undesirable events during the lyophilization of the EACNE were minimized by ball-milling the resulting solid. The microencapsulated EACNE demonstrated limited free-flowing behaviour but was freely redispersible in water without any visible phase separation. Conclusions: A solvent-mediated emulsification protocol creates a THC-loaded nanoemulsion that can subsequently be converted to a water-soluble powder. These materials are particularly suited for THC “microdosing”, a practice that might decouple the health benefits of THC from its psychotropic effects.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".