Coprecipitation of Safrole Oxide with Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

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.