Temperature Stability and Bioadhesive Properties of 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol Incorporated Hydroxypropylcellulose

The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the bio- adhesive profiles of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) polymer matrices as a func- tion of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. In addition, the effect of processing temperature on the stability of THC and its extent of degradation to cannabinol (CBN) was investigated. A hot-melt cast molding method was used to prepare HPC polymer matrix systems incorporated with THC at 0, 4, 8, and 16 percent. Bioadhesive measurements including peak adhesive force, area under the curve, and elongation at adhesive failure were recorded utilizing the TA.XT2i Texture Analyzer ™ . Data obtained from these tests at various contact time intervals suggested that the incorporation of THC led to an increase in the bioadhesive strength of the HPC polymer matrices. To determine the stability of THC and the resulting CBN content in the matrices, three different processing temperatures were utilized (120, 160, and 200°C). Post-production High Perfor- mance Liquid Chromotography (HPLC) analysis revealed that the processed systems contained at least 94% of THC and the relative percent formation of CBN was 0.5% at 120°C and 0.4% at 160°C compared to 1.6% at 200°C. These findings indicate that the cannabinoid may be a plausible candidate for incorpo- ration into systems utilizing hot-melt extrusion techniques for the development of an effective mucoadhesive transmucosal matrix system for delivery of THC.