Continuous-Flow Synthesis of?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and?8-Tetrahydrocannabinol from Cannabidiol

A challenging step in the preparation of tetrahydrocannabinol analogs is an acid-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization of the cannabidiol precursor. This step typically affords a mixture of products, which requires extensive purification to obtain any pure products. We report the development of two continuous flow protocols for the preparation of (-)-trans-Delta 9-tetrahydrocan-nabinol and (-)-trans-Delta 8-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Automated summary

This paper presents the development of two continuous flow protocols for the preparation of (-)-trans-Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and (-)-trans-Delta 8-tetrahydrocannabinol, eliminating the need for extensive purification of the mixture of products obtained from the precursor reaction.