Formation of Fine Particles from Curcumin/PVP by the Supercritical Antisolvent Process with a Coaxial Nozzle

The production of fine particles via the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) antisolvent process was carried out. The experiments were conducted at temperatures of 40-60 °C and pressures of 8-12 MPa with a 15 mL min^-1 carbon dioxide (CO₂) and 0.5 mL min^-1 feed solution flow rate. As a feed solution, the curcumin and the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) powder were dissolved in acetone and ethanol at concentrations of 1.0 mg mL^-1 and 2.0-4.0% in weight, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images described that most of the precipitated particle products have spherical morphologies with a size of less than 1 μm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra exhibited that the curcumin structural properties did not shift after the SC-CO₂ antisolvent process. Moreover, the PVP addition in the curcumin particle products can enhance the curcumin dissolution in distilled water significantly.