Application Study on the Preparation of Curcumin/PVP Coprecipitated Particles Using Coaxial Nozzle in Supercritical Antisolvent

Abstract

The supercritical antisolvent(SAS) technique serves as an environmentally benign processing method that effectively enhances the pharmacokinetic properties of poorly water-soluble drugs. Nevertheless, the existing supercritical fluid technology and processing methodologies remain underdeveloped, presenting significant barriers to large-scale industrial implementation. To overcome these limitations, a coaxial nozzle and its associated auxiliary apparatus were engineered. Taking curcumin as the research object, using polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) as the polymer carrier, and ethanol and acetone as the organic solvents, curcumin/PVP coprecipitated particles were synthesized via the SAS process. A detailed examination was conducted to evaluate the influence of key processing parameters─including acetone/ethanol(Ac/EtOH) volume ratio, curcumin/PVP mass ratio, temperature, pressure, and solution concentration─on the particle size and distribution of the resulting coprecipitates. The coprecipitate was characterized by various characterization methods. The findings reveal that the SAS process effectively generated amorphous curcumin/PVP coprecipitates with a submicron-scale particle diameter of 337 ± 47 nm. These findings confirm the great potential of the SAS method in the production of polymer-drug composite systems.