title: Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin and its combination with hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose increases aqueous solubility of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol.
abstract: Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa L. and its therapeutic effects are currently under intensive study. However, THC has a very low aqueous solubility (1-2 microg/mL), which restricts its use as a pharmaceutical. The present study demonstrates that THC forms a drug-cyclodextrin complex in an aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD), resulting in a thousand-fold increase in THC solubility. This improvement in solubility can be further increased by adding 0.1% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose to the HP-beta-CD solution. The present results suggest that the use of cyclodextrins might be a simple and useful method to overcome the poor water solubility of THC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jarho
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Pate
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brenneisen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Järvinen
mesh_terms: D000073738:2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000737:chemistry*; D065347:Hypromellose Derivatives; D008747:Methylcellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012995:Solubility; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins
chemical_list: D003505:Cyclodextrins; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins; D000073738:2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin; D065347:Hypromellose Derivatives; D013759:Dronabinol; D008747:Methylcellulose