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

[Image: see text] The production of fine particles via the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC–CO(2)) 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 (CO(2)) 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–CO(2) antisolvent process. Moreover, the PVP addition in the curcumin particle products can enhance the curcumin dissolution in distilled water significantly.