As more states legalize cannabis, whether it is introducing a medical cannabis program or expanding from medical-only to adult-use, more brands are diversifying their product lineup to meet a wider range of consumer needs and preferences.
At the same time, the Farm Bill has paved the way for more hemp-derived products to be sold on shelves outside of regulated dispensaries. This growth has prompted brands to invest in the development of diverse SKUs like infused beverages, tinctures, and topicals, which drives the increased need for rigorous finished product testing.
That’s where the expertise at ACT LAB and our partners come in. In this article, we’re featuring monarQh: one of our emulsion-alternative partners on the cutting edge of water-soluble solutions.
What are Emulsions?
THC is naturally hydrophobic, meaning it does not dissolve in water. To successfully incorporate these compounds into finished products, such as Delta 8 THC into a hemp beverage or THC into an infused topical cream, manufacturers must use emulsions.
Emulsions are specialized formulations that break cannabinoids into tiny, evenly dispersed droplets so they can mix with water-based liquids for proper dosing, stability, and bioavailability. Essentially, it prevents the cannabinoids from separating or floating to the top of the product, causing an elevated dose in some servings and a lower dose in others for an inconsistent consumer experience.
Understanding the Challenges of Emulsions in Finished Product Testing
Emulsions play an essential role in both product formulation and product testing but will vary based on the product type. For example, unlike traditional edible baked goods, hemp-infused beverages require a different approach to cannabinoid testing due to the unique way emulsions interact with liquid matrices.
Emulsion technologies can vary widely, and this inconsistency makes cannabinoid-infused products especially challenging to test. When lab testing isn’t tailored to a specific emulsion, the measured cannabinoid content in the final product can be significantly affected, which may lead to inaccurate labeling and an inconsistent consumer experience.
How ACT LAB Elevates Product Testing with Emulsion Partners
How can your brand overcome the challenges of emulsion testing? It starts with choosing the right long-term testing partner.
When considering what lab to work with, you want to make sure they are experienced with emulsions. ACT LAB is a nationwide leader in finished product testing with extensive expertise in emulsions. We’re committed to verifying your products are safe, high-quality, and compliant at every stage of production — to meet even the strictest state and federal regulations.
We’re proud to work with partner vendors like monarQh, a leader in water-soluble infusion technology, who is just as dedicated to compliance and consumer safety as we are.
Meet monarQh: An ACT LAB Emulsions-Alternative Vendor Partner
monarQh is a global provider of nanoparticle water-soluble solutions that have been developed and tested for over 50 products in the beverage, tincture, topical, water-soluble powder, and confectionary categories.
Lloyd “Skip” Meador, an entrepreneur in the finance, technology, nutraceutical, biotech, cannabis, and entheogenic industries, founded monarQh and its IP parent company, Plantrica. He has more than 20 years of experience in the nutraceutical and medicinal plant extraction industries and another 24 years of experience in state, federal, and international compliance. Skip led the formulation of multiple award-winning products.
Q&A: monarQh x ACT LAB
About monarQh’s nanoQuick Water Soluble Technology
Q:What makes emulsion testing so critical for infused finished products, and how do you address these challenges?
A:It is critical to test infused products at the time of production to ensure homogeneity. We have stressed that such testing is also critical through the product’s formulation, production, and completed lifespan stages for the duration of its shelf life. nanoQuick offers a more homogenized and precise product for lab testing compared to inconsistent oil-based or emulsion-based formulations. And because it is not an O/W emulsion subject to eventual separation, solubility lasts.
monarQh’s nanoQuick is a true water-soluble pharma-grade drug delivery system that functions at the molecular level by allowing the attachment of solubilizing agents to the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) molecule directly without the use of oil. nanoQuick is a fully tunable patent-pending infusion technology that creates a stable nanoparticle-sized, water-soluble micellar colloidal suspension for cannabinoids and other water-insoluble APIs. It improves water solubility and micelle stability, enhances absorption potential, and increases bioavailability using food-grade ingredients and lab-tested processes.
monarQh’s nanoQuick is not an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion. It does not require the use of oil to dissolve the API. Both emulsions and nanoemulsions involve dissolving the API in an oil that contains the API via an O/W emulsion. These O/W emulsions become unstable over time for a variety of reasons. monarQh works with our testing lab to ensure they are qualified to test our format and that they understand the difference.
Q: How does nanoQuick contribute to improving cannabinoid delivery and stability in finished products?
A: Our focus is all about getting a higher percentage of the APIs into the bloodstream with a more precise and measured time for absorption, so the intended dose is the exact amount of the API intended for consumption. MonarQh’s nanoQuick nanoparticle structure and formulation ensures a faster onset time and percentage arriving and binding to the correct receptor sites and locations to stimulate the desired response. The activity of the liver typically processes these APIs but nanoQuick is different. Because its water-soluble action functions at the molecular level, the absorption begins in seconds at the various soft tissue locations (mouth, throat, and stomach) for near-immediate effects.
About Partnering with ACT LAB
Q: If a brand is new to emulsified cannabinoids, what should they consider when selecting both an emulsion technology and a testing lab?
A: Emulsion formulation needs to solve its homogeneity and potency issues during production. This needs to be affordable and efficient to scale, so the smallest to the largest producer can engage with the technology. They need to trust their testing lab to properly sample prep and test for the API, so their production batch’s theoretical yield and homogeneity are in spec with the lab results.
Q: What common issues do brands face when testing beverage, tincture, edible, and topical products, and how can working with monarQh and ACT LAB help mitigate these risks?
A: Brands face many of the same issues, passing lab tests and being able to scale their production batches to increase their profitability. Since the majority of products being sold for wholesale utilize oil-based APIs, the problem lies in being unable to homogenize the API every time in the batch due to the difficulties inherent to working with oil-soluble APIs. Brands also face stability issues over the shelf life of the product.
These are the problems we aimed to solve with nanoQuick. After 4 years of testing nanoQuick in many of the most popular product formats, including beverages, powders, topicals, and gummies, we established the stability of the nanoparticles and the homogeneity in production batches, so larger batches could be produced that passed homogeneity and potency lab tests.
We have more than 15 years of product formulation and production experience. We know our customers’ product issues due to our own production experiences and challenges. We are more than a nanoparticle creator; we also engage with and solve product issues as a product producer.
Q: Why did you choose to work with ACT LAB as a preferred vendor partner for nanoparticle testing?
A: Due to our pharmaceutical-grade nanoparticles, we require a lab that has the experience to accurately sample, prep, and test for APIs that are in nanoparticle form.
Q: How does ACT LAB’s approach to testing align with your commitment to precision and quality?
A: By working with a lab that is willing and able to verify and validate their testing results based on monarQh’s expected theoretical batch, we are able to share our combined knowledge. The result is a precise lab result based on facts. Both ACT LAB’s and monarQh’s clients can trust the partnership to ensure accurate lab results.
Q: What sets ACT LAB apart from other testing labs you’ve seen or worked with?
A: Since ACT LAB understands the challenges of precise lab results for their customers, they were willing to take the time to test monarQh’s nanoQuick formulation in raw and finished product form in their labs across all states to confirm the results were precise and able to be replicated. This commitment and ongoing support when we require additional formulation testing sets them apart.
Q: How does this partnership benefit today’s product manufacturers?
A: Using our nanoQuick solution, compared to solely using oil to dissolve the API (distillate, isolate, etc.) or an oil-based emulsion, brands can more easily scale their production batches by having a more uniform and homogenized blend of their API in the production batch and individual unit. nanoQuick also turns their API into water-soluble equivalents while creating micelle stability, enhanced absorption potential, and increased bioavailability.
Q: What role do you see your technology playing in the future of finished product testing?
A: By standardizing the bioavailability and intake of cannabinoids and terpenes, there is now a predictable intake and feedback loop for the consumer. Product developers can now design products based on a measured intake of all their active ingredients. Products based on ratios, higher doses based on intended use, and more complex formulations are now possible.
Q: How do you plan to continue innovating in this space?
A: As more cannabinoids, terpenes, and additional oil-soluble APIs are made commercially available, and as our mutual customers engage with and utilize them, we will continue to test and refine our nanoQuick technology by working with ACT LAB to help us validate our R&D.
Q: Are there any upcoming developments in your partnership with ACT LAB that customers should be excited about?
A: There are two areas that we will continue developing together.
- Turning terpenes-only formulations into water-soluble nanoparticles for ACT LAB to test for their customers.
- We have recently released our own API bitter-blocking technology called Better Bitter Blocker to support monarQh’s nanoQuick. These can be used on their own or combined with additional bitter blockers.
Elevate Your Testing Knowlege with ACT LAB
At ACT LAB, we’re proud to be a multi-state leader in finished product testing for the cannabis and hemp industries. By sharing our insights, technical expertise, and deep industry knowledge, we’re committed to advancing the industry and supporting product excellence at every level.
Stay tuned to our blog for more partner spotlights, industry trend alerts, and other valuable insights. If you’re wondering if we can work with your emulsion vendor or are ready to partner with us, request testing today to start the conversation.
