There seems to be some misinformation or just a lack of information about the roles of lecithin and maltodextrin in edibles, so I wanted to clear up some confusion, or potentially educate people to try using them themselves.

Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin is just a type of sugar that is used often in pharmaceuticals and supplements. Due to it's chemical structure, it has a lot of pockets for lipophilic compounds to bind to, like THC or oils. In the weed industry, maltodextrin is primarily used to make water-soluble powder. However, once your THC-infused maltodextrin dissolves in water, it will release all of the THC, which will separate and not form a truly water-soluble mixture. Usually, lecithin is needed as well (see below).

Cyclodextrins

Cyclodextrins are a type of maltodextrin where the chemical structure is kind of like a ring or tube, and molecules of small enough size can actually bind there and become properly water-soluble. This is called forming an "inclusion complex". The difference with cyclodextrins is that when the THC-infused cyclodextrin dissolves in water, it will not release the THC but instead stay properly mixed, and will absorb similarly to nano-THC (meaning much of it absorbs before being metabolized to 11-OH-THC in the liver). However, you cannot infuse oils with cyclodextrin due to the particle size being too large to form a proper inclusion complex. It also seems like there isn't much info on using cyclodextrin with THC and it can be challenging to properly incorporate them.

Lecithin

Lecithin is a natural collection of lipids that essentially allow both lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules to bond to it, forming a proper emulsion. Additionally, lecithin acts as a surfactant, meaning it reduces the friction between oil and water molecules. When you mix lecithin-infused THC oil with water, it will readily mix with some shaking. The lecithin forms something like a bubble (encapsulating) around the oil/THC molecules, breaking them up into smaller particles. This prevents the oil from separating into a separate layer on top of the water, and also allows much of the oil particulates to absorb before reaching the liver (therefore skipping some 11-OH-THC metabolism, similar to nano-THC again). However, lecithin only forms a micro-emulsion, not a nano-emulsion.

Nano-THC

Nano-THC involves using a sonicator and water bath to break THC globules into very tiny nano-particles that absorb into your bloodstream rapidly, even mostly before reaching the liver. The sonicator uses untrasonic sound waves to vibrate the THC particles, while a surfactant and emulsifier is added like polysorbate 80 to help keep the THC evenly mixed and emulsified in the water. This is very challenging to do at home and usually requires specialized equipment.

Hopefully this helps. So to summarize:

* If you want it to hit like a regular edible, but in powder form (for capsules, etc): Maltodextrin
* If you want it to hit more quickly and mix with water (for drinks, etc): Maltodextrin lecithin
* If you want to try experimenting you can try cyclodextrin and leave out the lecithin
* If you have access to specialized equipment you can make/use nano-THC instead