Independent analysis on the new CBD oil nanoemulsion technique created by Pressure BioSciences (PBI), has illustrated the validity of the method. With the help of scientists at NutraFuels' the Ultra Shear Technology (UST) has been proven to effectively transform the oil into a nanoemulsion.
For many oil-based nutritional and therapeutic products, such as CBD-infused nutraceuticals, nanoemulsions offer superior water solubility and increased bioavailability for improved absorption in the consumer. Consequently, there is a need to develop reliable, scalable methods to process CBD oil into high-quality nanoemulsions, with minimal loss of CBD during the process.
The tests on hemp-derived CBD oil from UST have confirmed that the process results in a true CBD oil nanoemulsion. NutraFuels’ scientists performed the tests on the method from US-based PBI, showing that, during the process, CBD is neither lost nor modified (> 99% recovery).
The process combines ultra-high pressure with extreme shearing forces to create nano-scale mixtures of fluids that otherwise do not mix, resulting in a stable homogenised solution, called nanoemulsions.
Dr Vera Gross, the Director of Applications Development at PBI, commented: "To determine if the UST process resulted in a loss or modification of CBD during processing, we enlisted the help of our collaborator NutraFuels, who has an FDA-inspected, highly-qualified analytical laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment and well-trained chemists with years of experience in laboratory testing."
Testing the process
To test the process, the independent university-affiliated laboratory was selected by PBI. The size of the oil droplets, post-UST, were measured using a universally-accepted sizing method called DLS. Gross further explained that the results showed that the droplets were approximately 65 nm in size, within the range of 20-200 nm generally accepted as defining a true nanoemulsion.
Comparing the method with the company’s standard method, ultrasonication, which loses measurable CBD, the new process results seemed encouraging. Mr Cooper Dodd, an R&D Scientist at Floridan company, NutraFuels, explained that the lab used a method called HPLC to measure the concentrations of CBD and potential impurities.
Dodd said: "While there is more work to be done, as a nutraceutical manufacturer with products already on the market, we see these results as a robust leap towards better optimisation of our CBD-enhanced products."
Professor Keith Warriner, Professor of Food Science at the University of Guelph, and a recognised expert in the cannabis industry, commented: "The data disclosed today on UST-generated nanoemulsions of CBD oil are very impressive. Creating nanoemulsions of CBD oil with full preservation of CBD throughout the process, while not generating impurities, remains a significant challenge in the industry. These data offer great promise to the future."
