Terms such as nanoscience and bioavailability won’t make sense unless you are fluent in scientific terminology. These two terms are constantly used with cannabis these days.
You are most likely to look at a dictionary to navigate through the scientific lingo, particularly when terpenes, isolates, full-spectrum flash across your phone screen. Along with these terms, there are two more terms that you need to add to your cannabis vocabulary: CBD Bioavailability and Nano CBD.
Both these terms are often used in regards to cannabinoids absorption power. Simply put, the scientific process of nanotechnology allows the CBD industry to produce products quickly absorbed by the body. The reason why you are likely to come across these terms in the near future.
Well, we have to keep certain aspects in mind before explaining the role of the science behind CBDs’ effectiveness. First and foremost, CBD is still in its infancy. This means that researchers are still experimenting with cannabis and evaluating the role of CBD in medicine.
Second, cannabis is illegal on the federal level. The only exception is hemp-derived CBD with less than or equal to 0.3% CBD has achieved legal recognition nationwide. Last but not the least, the law and regulations often make it difficult for research centers to conduct scientific experiments.
However, the good news is, despite roadblocks, several cannabis brands have expressed their interest in providing products that work better.
Nanotechnology is not new to us or the cannabis industry. It has helped change the effectiveness of various products including CBD. If you walk up to a cannabis store or order CBD products, you can easily find a line up of beauty and medical products touting its use.
However, cannabis is still in its infancy and this subject fancies the best of us. So, here’s how it works.
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CBD Nanotechnology: How Does It Work?
To help you understand the scientific aspect of cannabis in most simplified terms, here’s a simple explanation. Scientists during the process of nanotechnology take small particles of CBD or other cannabinoids to create even smaller particles.
These particles are then termed as nanoparticles because you can only see them under a microscope. Also, the process of breaking CBD into smaller parties increases the rate of absorption. In simple words, the particles are so small that they can be easily absorbed by your body.
This also allows the particles to work more effectively than regular particles.
As the particles flow into your bloodstream, the behavior remains similar to that of regular-sized particles. The only difference is that further reduction of the same particles changes certain aspects. For instance, nanoparticles can pass through areas or gaps microparticles could not.
As a result, both scientists and the cannabis industry take advantage of this technology to provide better results.
In addition to this, nanotechnology also reduces the possibility of increased smoking risks. More and more people are now aware of the risks smoking has on our lungs and respiratory tracts. If you smoke or vape cannabis, it vaporizes so that your lungs can absorb it.
The only problem is that besides marijuana doctors giving soft copies of a cannabis card, smoking has become a major concern, particularly during the pandemic.
After all, the coronavirus is a respiratory illness. This is the reason why the cannabis industry is looking forward to introducing new forms of consumption. Of course, keeping in mind uniformity and increased bioavailability at the same time.
Nanotechnology And CBD Bioavailability
Yes, the answer is quite clear because nanotechnology has worked wonders for various products in the past few years. And the good news is that the CBD industry has successfully achieved success in this field. You can see a wide range of products engineered to meet specific requirements.
Not only this, but we also have scientists studying the aspects of increasing CBDs bioavailability with the help of nanotechnology. Here is an example: A Canadian cannabis R&D company is working with the University of British Columbia to help increase the absorption power of CBD. The research is underway and it can help increase CBD absorption especially when taken through the mouth.
Another example is a skincare product named Defynt. It is a new skincare product and it uses nanotechnology to help consumers receive maximum benefit. Defynt reduces skin inflammation and provides other therapeutic benefits.
It can do so because nanotechnology allows very small particles to mix in the water. If you are using enhanced CBD oil created with the help of nanotechnology, the oil will naturally be water-compatible. As a result, your body will absorb maximum oil providing instant relief from pain. Just like our body absorbs 95% water.
This also makes sense. Think about it. Water is the biggest molecular our body can absorb. In turn, water-soluble oil will be equally absorbable. And many CBD cosmetic experts believe that this could change the face of the cannabis industry.
Products created with the help of nanotechnology will allow skincare products to penetrate the deeper layers of the skin.
The only problem is that techniques like nanoemulsion do not necessarily create room for penetration. At times, specific ingredients are used, and whether or not nanotechnology can prove this is still unclear.
What Is The Need For Nanotechnology?
In the case of CBD products, the need for nanotechnology is quite clear. As you may know, CBD products have very low bioavailability.
This means that as a CBD user you absorb few cannabinoids, while others simply result in waste. Indirectly, you are also wasting the value of your money and CBD products are not cheap.
They will cost you a significant amount. So, a low content absorption rate also leads to a wastage of products’ individual properties. Be it relief from anxiety or pain.
In fact, this is one of the main reasons why low bioavailability has become a topic of interest and worry for cannabis users. Also, in the long run, not even a single company wants to run marketing campaigns for ineffective products.
That said, let us take up another study to help you understand why we need nanotechnology in CBD products. According to this study, CBDs oral consumption helps you absorb between 5 to 20 percent of the total product.
Similarly, the sublingual absorption rate ranges between 12% to 35%, and the vaporization absorption rate could reach up to 56%.
The only exception in this case is intravenous CBD. In this method of consumption, the product is directly introduced in the bloodstream allowing your body to absorb 100% of the compound. Unfortunately, the FDA does not approve of this method. This makes it difficult for companies to introduce CBD injections.
From the numbers introduced in the study given above, you can conclude that the bioavailability of CBD is quite low. To put this into perspective, here is a simple example.
Say that you bought a 330ml bottle of juice, but you were able to drink only 120ml out of the bottle. So, imagine how much product gets wasted when you consume normal CBD?
Nanotechnology In CBD Products
What nanotechnology can do for CBD products says a lot about CBDs effectiveness. While nanoparticles travel through gateways too narrow for macroparticles, it also creates more room for improvement. Which, in turn, has given rise to various technological advancements in CBD products.
Some companies go as far as spending major financial portions into nanotechnology.
Take Abatis Bioceuticals as an example. This company is studying various aspects of cannabis technology. It studies nanotechnology and explores ways to increase CBDs bioavailability. On the other hand, it also allows CBD cosmetic companies to explore different scientific methods.
These methods will help CBD companies create products with increased penetration. While others can use nanotechnology to improve the bioavailability of CBD.
You also have to take note of one major point. Nanotechnology is a vast field. Companies and scientists use it according to specific requirements.
That does not mean the CBD industry has discovered everything. In fact, cannabis research centers have managed to scratch the top few layers. Leaving more room for in-depth research and speculations.
Final Thoughts
Nanotechnology has not been used to its utmost potential and the concept is quite new for the CBD industry. The only exception is, companies researching and studying this topic to introduce better quality products.
The good news is that we can see a lot of promising papers published on nanotechnology and cannabinoids. Moving into 2020, we feel new research papers will start coming in.
This, in turn, will help the cannabis industry achieve milestones.
More vitally, you need to understand that not all CBD products are created equal. If a product reads nanotechnology, it does not mean that the product is legit.
So, make sure you do your homework before purchasing these products. For the same, you can request lab reports.
While some companies publish lab reports on their website, you can send your products into a lab in case of companies that do not provide lab reports. You’re not being a CBD snob, you are just testing the value of a product you paid for.
