Abstract
The supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process has been used to re-crystallize lutein from ethyl acetate solutions. The influence of several process parameters (pressure, temperature, initial concentration, CO 2 and solution flowrates) on the particle size and morphology have been studied. The results have been compared to these obtained with other carotenoids (β-carotene and lycopene) with similar operating conditions, and have been interpreted with the aid of a phase equilibrium model based on the perturbed hard sphere chain equation of state. Large differences in particle size have been observed between the experiments performed in the two-phase and the single-phase regions of the vapor–liquid phase diagram. A change in the particle morphology, from agglomerated microparticles to polygonal crystals, has been observed when the CO 2/solution flow ratio was increased or the initial concentration was decreased. As a result of the precipitation, the purity of the lutein has been increased from 75% to over 90%. The co-precipitation of lutein with poly-lactic acid (PLA) has also been studied. A reduction in the particle size with the polymer/drug ratio has been observed, down to a minimum diameter of 1–5 μm.
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