Solubility of anti-inflammatory drugs in supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical fluid extraction is a potential technique for the purification of pharmaceutical products containing residual solvents. The solubilities of the drugs in supercritical carbon dioxide are being measured as part of a program in which the potential applications of this technology are being investigated. The solubilities of three inhibitors of inflammatory activity, Ketoprofen, Piroxicam, and Nimesulide, in supercritical CO2, measured using a dynamic saturation technique, are reported at pressures between 100 bar and 220 bar and at two temperatures: 312.5 K and 331.5 K. These chemicals have relatively high solubilities with values ranging from 4 x 10(-6) to 15 x 10(-4) mole fraction. The solubilities exhibit a clear dependence on the solvent density, and this has been used to provide a simple and precise correlation of the data.