Production of Nanoparticles of RS-(±)-Ibuprofen Using Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solutions (RESS)

Supercritical carbon dioxide has currently received a lot of attention as attractive media for the production of small and solvent-free particles. Rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS) technique has been paid much attention and has been expected as an effective and environmentally friendly nanoparticle design method. In this study, the production of nanoparticles of RS-(±)-ibuprofen by RESS technique using supercritical carbon dioxide is presented. The experimental temperature and pressure are 308.2 and 313.2 K, and 13.5–20.0 MPa, respectively. We have successfully produced nano-sized particles (mean particle size: about 200 nm) with the narrow particle size distribution. Moreover, the properties of the nanoparticles produced have been strongly influenced by the supersaturation defined as the difference between the chemical potential of the solute at the section of preparing the supercritical solution saturated with the solute and that at the section of the collection of the particles produced.