(274f) Preparation of Dextran Microsphere Using Supercritical Antisolvent Process

In this work, the micron-sized dextran particles, which can be used as a DDS(Drug Delivery System), were prepared in favor of the so-called SAS(Supercritical Anti Solvent) process. In this effort, the effects of operational conditions including temperature, pressure, and flow rate as well as composition of the feed solution on the morphology of the resulting particles were observed. In the temperature range of 308.15K to 323.15K, the smallest particles were obtained at 313.15K. On the other, the effect of the pressure was noticed; relatively discrete particles were formed at 110 bar whilst more extensive conglomeration of the particles was observed between 90bar and 130bar. An increase of the solute concentration led to enlargement of the particle size. The size of the resulting particle increased with the concentration of the feed; however, the feed with the concentration higher than 5mg/ml could not give rise to the particle formation due to the severe aggregation. In addition, the flow rate of the feed solution did bear a faint effect on the particle size. Typical particle size obtained in this work ranges from 0.3μ m to 0.4 μ m.