Supercritical Fluid Technology: An Emphasis on Drug Delivery and Related Biomedical Applications

During the past few decades, supercritical fluid (SCF) has emerged as an effective alternative for many traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Operating active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) alone or in combination with various biodegradable polymeric carriers in high-pressure conditions provides enhanced features with respect to their physical properties such as bioavailability enhancement, is of relevance to the application of SCF in the pharmaceutical industry. Herein, recent advances in drug delivery systems manufactured using the SCF technology are reviewed. We provide a brief description of the history, principle, and various preparation methods involved in the SCF technology. Next, we aim to give a brief overview, which provides an emphasis and discussion of recent reports using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) for fabrication of polymeric carriers, for applications in areas related to drug delivery, tissue engineering, bio-imaging, and other biomedical applications. We finally summarize with perspectives.

The supercritical carbon dioxide technology utilizes carbon dioxide in its supercritical state as it is non-toxic, cost-effective, and environmental-friendly. This green technology produces polymeric carriers in various forms by altering critical conditions such as temperature and pressure during the fabrication process. We provide an overview of the history, principle, and preparation methods involving this versatile technology and its use in fabrication of polymeric carriers for applications in drug delivery and related biomedical areas.

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