Presenter: Sheena Luy
Authors: Sheena Lee Luy
Faculty Advisor: Rico Del Sesto
Institution: Dixie State University
Cannabinoid compounds such as CBD and THC are used by many for recreational and medicinal purposes. The pharmacological and therapeutic potential of cannabinoids has been shown to include anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, increasing the market for over-the-counter products containing CBD and other cannabinoids. Oral, sublingual, and transdermal are typical approaches to cannabinoid administration; however, these methods have seen numerous drawbacks for their poor bioavailability and inefficient drug delivery that leads to sparse therapeutic effects. The hydrophobic properties of the cannabinoids reduces their permeability to epithelial tissues and impedes their dispersal into the bloodstream, limiting the efficacy of the transdermal delivery approach. This project aims to design and develop alternative cannabinoid formulations that will: (1) enhance the absorption via transdermal administration by changing the physicochemical properties of the materials; and (2) devise a systemic delivery method that will maximize the compound's bioavailability to improve therapeutic potency. We are currently synthesizing alternative formulations of several cannabinoids and determining each product's hydrophobicity, viscosity, and potential for transdermal and sublingual delivery. These new materials could potentially improve cannabinoid bioavailability significantly, leading to novel and versatile formulations of therapeutic materials.