WHAT IS INFUSED BY SPLASH?
Infused by Splash is the brainchild of NanoTechnology enthusiast and expert Kalon Baird. The desire to create infused beverages sparked a technology platform for making cannabinoids much more effective and bioavailable. Borrowing research from the big food and pharma space, a proprietary, safe delivery platform was born. This technology can also be used to enhance and deliver other bioactive molecules as well.
WHAT IS CBD?
CBD (Cannabidiol) is one of the many exogenous cannabinoids synthesized from Cannabis and Hemp plants. Its popularity and usage has been exploding in the mainstream and more uses of CBD are being discovered every day. CBD works by activating an endogenous system in our bodies known as the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system is composed mostly of CB1 and CB2 receptor sites. CBD works by activating or inactivating these receptor sites. The ECS is like any other system in our body ie. lymphatic, endocrine etc. It regulates our mood, sensation of pain, and inflammation as well as immune function. Consuming CBD is thought to have a regulatory balancing effect on our ECS, and therefore can promote a general sense of well being and harmony.
INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
Education remains one of the largest challenges for product manufacturers and brands to overcome in scaling their businesses, reaching more customers and most importantly retaining those customers. At the time of this writing, the CBD industry is highly unregulated, and therefore consumer confidence of what they are buying remains low. Some factors that affect the industry at large:
- Many products do not offer Certificate of Analysis (COA) showing how much actual CBD is in the finished products
- Need to establish a minimum effective dose (MED) which is compounded by using old delivery methods such as oil based tinctures and macro suspensions
- Lack of consistency between batches
- Some products have been tested and they contain little to zero CBD
- Need to educate the differences between grades of active CBD (full spectrum, broad spectrum, Isolate)
- Need to educate on the legality of CBD, additionally how drug testing intersects the CBD movement
BIOAVAILABILITY
Bioavailability is defined as “The proportion of a drug or other substance which enters the circulation when introduced into the body and so is able to have an active effect.” CBD is classified by the biopharmaceutical class system as a Type 2 drug which exhibits poor aqueous solubility and high permeability. One of the main disadvantages of such “drugs” is that they need careful formulation to avoid being degraded, metabolized, and cleared by the digestive system and first pass metabolism (liver) before being absorbed. As many as 70% of drugs on the market today fall into this classification of exhibiting poor aqueous solubility.
The mainstream CBD industry focuses on oil based delivery formulations, which are grossly archaic in the pharmaceutical and medical field. Many companies and consumers have never heard of bioavailability, and are unaware that up to 70% of the CBD they are taking is being cleared by the body before ever making it into the bloodstream. Infused by Splash uses cutting edge and proprietary technology borrowed in parts from food and Pharma sectors to deliver industry best practices for enhanced drug delivery.
The future of the CBD and wellness industry will be built on the platform of enhanced therapeutic delivery systems.
WHAT DOES NANO MEAN AND IS IT IMPORTANT?
Nano simply means that the particles are much smaller than particles delivered through a Micro, or Macro suspension. To put things into perspective, a human red blood cell is approximately 5,000 nanometers. Infused by Splash particles are under 50 nanometers, that’s 100x smaller. When the same amount of CBD is broken down to such a small particle size, the surface area increases exponentially. More surface area means more potential for bonding at the ECS receptor sites. Pretty simple common sense understanding. Nano emulsification is one method to make particles really small, and remain small while suspended in an aqueous (water) medium. The surface active modifiers used in the formulation must be non toxic, and able to achieve high shelf stability without creaming or sedimentation (separating), especially when dissolved in a beverage or infused in food.
PRECISION DOSING
Nano emulsions offer customizable concentrates with active drug loading to meet the end products’ needs. An example of this would be Infused by Splash’s standard emulsion which is able to load 10mg of Nano CBD into 1 milliliter (ml) of water. This can be diluted into a beverage easily and uses a minimum of excipient ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
Infused by Splash proudly uses only clean label natural ingredients. Many companies use synthetic ingredients to achieve homogeneity. We don’t use artificial colors which have been proven to be harmful e.g. red40, blue 1,2 etc.We use food grade GRAS ingredients to coat the precious CBD molecules in our water soluble suspensions.We are also vegan, allergy free and use organic ingredients. This translates to compatibility with many sensitives which exist in today’s marketplace, and high consumer confidence.
PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS: Color, Taste and Stability
Our suspensions will have a clear to translucent appearance. This measurement is known as the polydisperse index (PDI) and is a measurement of optical clarity. Our nanoemulsions rank under 0.2 which is ultra clear. This value is also a “sniff test” of particle size. The smaller a particle is, the less it will scatter light, which produces turbidity or cloudiness. When you incorporate Infused By Splash products into your formulations, there will be no optical change perceptible.
Just as the effects of Nano are amplified, so is the taste. By working with source materials such as full spectrum and broad spectrum distillates, the entourage of terpenes and phytocannabinoids can help create a more robust flavor profile. Expect a linear correlation between the effects and the taste when using Nano based products ie Nano is more bitter than traditional oils. You can “taste the potency”. Dissolved in a flavored drink or a large ratio liquid to Nano, it will dilute the bitterness.
Our products are shelf stable for 1 year and will remain as stable as the formulation they are infused into. We recommend avoiding exposure of any cannabinoids to UV light as it can degrade the precious CBD molecules. This is true with any active ingredients, Nano or oil based.
FASTER ONSET & HIGHER EFFICACY
The formulations used by Infused By Splash offer advantages for product formulators, and ultimately consumers, to deliver a higher portion of consumed active ingredients directly into the bloodstream and avoid digestive degradation. What this means is essentially the consumer is getting close to 100% of the active CBD they are paying for. A direct effect of bioavailability is the enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR). This means that the consumer can start feeling therapeutic effects much faster than a standard oil formulation. All in all, more of the active is transferred to the bloodstream and achieved by a faster onset.
NANO COSTS MORE PER MG THAN OIL BASED FORMULAS – But with Nano you actually need less mg to receive the same amount which in the end makes Nano products less expensive.
One of the most noticeable differences from the formulator’s standpoint is the price increase using a Nano-formulation VS using straight CBD oil or isolate. The ingredient costs can be 3-5x as much as using an inferior oil based product. The main reason for this is tremendous R&D costs, as well as excipient ingredients of the highest purity, and expensive machinery used to refine and further purify the active substances in the new Nano formulations. The decision to switch to Nano may seem expensive, but the benefits far outweigh the initial upfront costs. Nearing 100% bioavailability, much faster onset, and the ability to work with water-based formulations are only a few of the obvious benefits.
EASE OF FORMULATION
Product formulators can now use Infused by Splash to achieve a few of the following industrial advantages:
- Direct infusibility into water based formulations (tinctures, beverages, transdermals, cosmeceuticals, IV, etc. Water soluble powder into dry water soluble formulations)
- Complete homogeneity – no separation within the water based product (gummies, creams beverages, chocolates etc.)
- Accuracy of dosage infusion
- Products with a faster therapeutic onset
- Products with greater bioavailability
- High shelf stability
- Versatility in development of new product categories.
WHAT ABOUT SOURCE MATERIALS?
Infused by Splash proudly uses only the cleanest third party tested CBD products in our emulsified formulations. We also are proud to offer flexibility for brands dedicated to preserving the quality of their established supply chains and sources. In the latter case, Infused by Splash can offer particle coating services. In this case, we would take the source material either in isolate, or distillate form with a passing COA and convert the source material into a “Nanotized” suspension that can be reintroduced into the end formulation.
Will Infused by Splash products show a higher percentage of CBD when tested by a laboratory?
No, the amount of active CBD/g will not increase as a result of nano emulsification, however, the surface area will have increased considerably. The laboratory testing your formulation should be aware you’re using a colloidal water soluble suspension, as their procedures may differ from an oil solvency procedure which is commonplace.
Our team at Infused by Splash is excited to start interfacing with your current and future products. Our aim is to provide cutting edge technology, and continuous process improvement. We want to help develop the best products the CBD industry has seen thus far. Our passion starts from the intersection of food and Pharma research combined with the growing number of uses for Cannabidiol (CBD), and other phytonutrients, terpenes, and cannabinoids. We’re always available to answer questions or discuss a possible partnership.
