Coprecipitation of safrole oxide with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) in supercritical carbon dioxide

5-(Oxiran-2-ilmetil)-1,3-benzodioxol ou epoxi-safrol (SO) vem sendo estudado ao longo dos anos devido a suas propriedades dependentes da concentracao, como inducao a apoptose e transdiferenciacao celular. A coprecipitacao do SO com um polimero biodegradavel e biocompativel, poli(3-hidroxibutirato-co-3-hidroxivalerato) (PHBV), foi realizada utilizando a tecnica de dispersao de solucao aumentada por fluidos supercriticos (SEDS). Um planejamento fatorial 2 4–1 foi realizado para investigar os efeitos das condicoes experimentais (pressao, vazao de solucao e de antissolvente e concentracoes de PHBV e SO) na eficiencia do processo e na morfologia dos coprecipitados. Para o material obtido SO/PHBV, foram observadas formas esfericas e fibrosas, sendo as morfologias dependentes das condicoes experimentais. Os mecanismos de liberacao controlada de epoxi-safrol para os materiais esfericos foram diferentes dos materiais fibrosos. Analise termica mostrou uma diminuicao na temperatura de maxima velocidade de degradacao (T max ) em relacao ao PHBV, atribuida a presenca de SO e a morfologia da amostra. In recent years, 5-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)-1,3-benzodioxole or safrole oxide (SO) has been widely studied due to its concentration dependent properties, such as cellular apoptosis inducing activity and cell transdifferentiation. Coprecipitation of SO with a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), were performed using solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids technique (SEDS). A 2 4–1 factorial design was carried out to investigate the effect of processing parameters (pressure, solution flow, anti-solvent flow and concentrations of PHBV and SO) on the process efficiency and microparticle morphology. Both fibrous and spherical shapes were observed for coprecipitated SO/PHBV, which were dependent on the experimental-processing conditions. Controlled release mechanisms of SO to spherical materials were different from fibrous materials. Thermal analysis showed a decrease in the temperature of maximum weight loss rate (T max ) of PHBV, attributed to the presence of SO and sample morphology.