Improved dissolution and bioavailability of silymarin delivered by a solid dispersion prepared using supercritical fluids

The objective of this study was to improve the dissolution and bioavailability of silymarin(SM).Solid dispersions(SDs)were prepared using solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids(SEDS)and evaluated in vitro and in vivo,compared with pure SM powder.The particle sizes,stability,and contents of residual solvent of the prepared SM-SDs with SEDS and solvent evaporation(SE)were investigated.Four polymer matrix materials were evaluated for the preparation of SM-SD-SEDS,and the hydrophilic polymer,polyvinyl pyrrolidone K17,was selected with a ratio of 1:5 between SM and the polymer.Physicochemical analyses using X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that SM was dispersed in SD in an amorphous state.The optimized SM-SD-SEDS showed no loss of SM after storage for 6 months and negligible residual solvent(ethanol)was detected using gas chromatography.In vitro drug release was increased from the SM-SDSEDS,as compared with pure SM powder or SM-SD-SE.In vivo,the area under the rat plasma SM concentration-time curve and the maximum plasma SM concentration were 2.4-fold and 1.9-fold higher,respectively,after oral administration of SM-SD-SEDS as compared with an aqueous SM suspension.These results illustrated the potential of using SEDS to prepare SM-SD,further improving the biopharmaceutical properties of this compound.

Effect of Supercritical Fluids on the Biological Activity of Absidia coerulea for the Hydroxylation of Reichsterin's Substance Acetate

The viability and biological activity of Absidia coerulea in compressed or supercritical CO2 and C2H4 were studied. The specific activity of Absidia coerulea in 7.5MPa CO2 and C2H4 at 306K can reach to 23% and 75% respectively, leading to the feasibility of using supercritical C2H4 as an alternative to the organic solvent in the hydroxylation of Reichsterin’s substance acetate.

Constant-Volume Heat Capacity of Mixed Supercritical Fluids and Molecular Interaction in the Systems

Constant-volume heat capacities of supercritical (SC) CO2, SC CO2-n-pentane, and SC CO2-n-heptane mixtures were determined at 308.15 K in the pressure range from 6 to 12 MPa. It was found that there is a maximum in each heat capacity vs pressure curve. Intermolecular interaction in the fluids was studied.

Heat transfer behaviors of some supercritical fluids: A review

Supercritical fluids(e.g.,hydrocarbon fuels,water,carbon dioxide,and organic working medium,etc)have been recognized as working media to improve thermal efficiencies in power cycles and energy conversion,and have been used or selected as the working fluids in engineering fields such as aerospace,nuclear power,solar energy,refrigeration,geothermal energy,chemical technology,and so on.To better understand the interesting characteristic or abnormal behaviors of supercritical fluids,most valuable research works(including experimental results and numerical studies)from domestic and abroad have been documented.As such,this paper presents a comprehensive review on heat transfer behaviors of some supercritical fluids in engineering applications.This review focuses on recently available articles published mainly from 2016 up to the present time.The common problems(i.e.,heat transfer enhancement and heat transfer deterioration particularly for the supercritical hydrocarbon fuels)in the supercritical field are summarized and some perspectives on future prospects are also included.

Hybrid Particle Swarm-Ant Colony Algorithm to Describe the Phase Equilibrium of Systems Containing Supercritical Fluids with Ionic Liquids

Based on biologically inspired algorithms,a thermodynamic model to describe the vapor-liquid equilibrium of binary complex mixtures containing supercritical fluids and ionic liquids,is presented.The Peng-Robinson equation of state with the Wong-Sandler mixing rules are used to evaluate the fugacity coefficient on the systems.Then,a hybrid particle swarm-ant colony optimization was used to minimize the difference between calculated and experimental bubble pressure,and calculate the binary interaction parameters for the excess Gibbs free energy of all systems used.Simulations are carried out in nine systems with imidazolium-based ionic liquids.The results show that the bubble pressures were correlated with low deviations between experimental and calculated values.These deviations show that the proposed hybrid algorithm is the preferable method to describe the phase equilibrium of these complex mixtures,and can be used for other similar systems.

Supercritical fluids:Clean solvents for green chemistry

Supercritical fluids are becoming increasingly attractive as environmentally acceptable replacement for organic solvents in chemical reactions and material processing. This paper highlights some of the properties of supercritical fluids, especially supercritical CO2, which offer particular advantages for the handling of polymers, metal complexes and the environmentally more friendly synthesis and manufacture of chemicals. The paper includes same of the researches in University of Nottingham and a number of recent reviews which together provide a comprehensive introduction.

Oxidation of Styrene with Molecular Oxygen in Supercritical CO_2

The oxidation of styrene with molecular oxygen catalyzed by PdCl2+CuCl2 has been investigated in supercritical CO2 with a batch reactor. The oxidative system of styrene contains four components at the beginning and seven components during the reaction. The critical temperature, critical pressure, and critical density at different conversions are determined by using a high-pressure view cell. The effect of phase behavior on the conversion and selectivity were studied. Experimental results showed that the critical parameters of the reaction mixture at fixed initial molar ratio changed with the conversion of reactant. The conversion of styrene reached maximum near the critical density of the reaction mixture. Product selectivity also varied with density of reaction mixture and could be tuned to some degree.

The origin of the crustal conductive layer and the conductivity of supercritical brine（Ⅱ）

This paper is the second one of a series of three papers on fluid evolution of the crust upper mantle and the causes of earthquakes. Based on the first paper, two conductive mechanisms of the crustal conductive layer(CCL), graphite and supercritical saline aqueous fluids, are discussed. As there are difficulties for graphite model, the supercritical fluids are investigated in this paper concerning the phases, the electrically conductive behaviors, the evolution and the sealing mechanisms of the fluids. It is obvious that this model is reasonable to explain the geophysical and geochemical characteristics of the CCL presented in the first paper.

Numerical Investigations on Supercritical Heat Transfer Characteristics of Environmental Friendly Refrigerants

The heat transfer of supercritical fluids is a vastly growing field, specifically to find suitable alternatives to replace conventional R134a, which can be beneficial for climate change. Most of the experimental and numerical investigations have been conducted to explore supercritical water, carbon dioxide and R134a as heat transfer working fluids. Hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) and refrigerants blends have been considered the most environment-friendly refrigerants to replace Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Hydrochlorofluoro-carbons (HCFCs) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Their main advantage of zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and comparatively lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) have attracted growing amount of attention to mitigate environmental issues. This work adopts the computational method and takes the environmentally friendly refrigerants to investigate the heat transfer characteristics under widely used shear-stress transport (SST) model. A comprehensive comparison was performed at reduced pressure of 1.10 for supercritical fluids R515A, R1234ze(E) and R134a. The peaks of heat transfer coefficient occurred in the vicinity of pseudo critical temperature for all of these considered fluids;however, R134a resulted in higher heat transfer coefficient, Reynolds number and Prandtl number in comparison with R515A and R1234ze(E). The higher heat transfer coefficient of supercritical fluid R134a is owing to its thermophysical properties and the specific heat plays crucial role in the heat transfer of supercritical fluids. Owing to environmental issues, R515A can be a considerable replacement of R134a. R1234ze(E) is also promising alternative to R134a;however, safety issues should thoroughly concern its mild flammable characteristics.

Isolation and Extraction of Total Flavonoids from Epimedium Koreanum Nakai by Supercritical Fluid Extraction

In the present paper is reported the method for the isolation and extraction of total flavonoids of Epimedium Koreanum Nakai by means of supercritical fluid extraction(SFE). By examining pressure, temperature, amounts of modifier and extraction time, the optimized condition of SFE is confirmed as 30 MPa and 60 ℃, with 70% ethanol as the modifier. The samples were statically extracted for 30 min, followed by dynamic extraction for 120 min at a flow rate of 6 mL/min. The quantitative analysis of total flavonoids was performed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Compared with the conventional method, the SFE method is more efficient, more rapid and more friendly environmentally.

Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Total Flavonoids from Leaves of Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms

The herbal plant Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms is natural herb of Changbaishan in Jilin Province of China, which belongs to the Araliaceae family. As the ingredients of folk medicine, it has long been used to treat a variety of human diseases, such as cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, tumor, isochemic heart diseases, hypertension, rheumatic arthritis, etc. E2,33. Flavonoids, a class of constituent compounds, which have a broad distribution in the nature and are found in Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms, have gained particular attention. A number of studies have shown that flavonoid compounds have wide biological activities, such as anti-aging, anticancer, anti-HIV,

Preparation of TiO_2-MoO_3 nano-composite photo-catalyst by supercritical fluid dry method

A series of TiO 2-MoO 3 nano-composite photocatalysts were prepared by supercritical fluid dry method(SCFD) and an impregnation technique with TiCl 4 and (NH 4) 6Mo 7O 24 ·4H 2O as the starting materials. The catalysts were characterized by the means of XRD, TEM and UV-Vis. Methyl orange was used as model compound for the evaluation of their catalytic activities. The results indicated that the photo-catalyst prepared by SCFD had the advantages of small size(12.84 nm), narrow distribution and good dispersivity. The presence of small amount of Mo in composite catalyst gives rise to the red shift of its absorbance wavelength, decrease of its energy gap and increase of the utility of visible light. Furthermore, higher surface acidity of the photo-catalyst was obtained as the result of the addition of MoO 3. Compared with pure TiO 2, the catalytic activity of the TiO 2-MoO 3 nano-composite photo-catalyst was improved significantly. As the doping concentration of the composite catalysts was controlled at 0.6%(molar percentage), 100% degradation of methyl orange was achieved with in 1.2 h irradiation time.

Optimization of conditions for supercritical fluid extraction of flavonoids from hops (Humulus lupulus L.)

Waste hops are good sources of flavonoids. Extraction of flavonoids from waste hops (SC-CO2 extracted hops) using supercritical fluids technology was investigated. Various temperatures, pressures and concentrations of ethanol (modifier) and the ratio (w/w) of solvent to material were tested in this study. The results of single factor and orthogonal experiments showed that at 50 °C, 25 MPa, the ratio of solvent to material (50%), ethanol concentration (80%) resulted in maximum extraction yield fla- vonoids (7.8 mg/g). HPLC-MS analysis of the extracts indicated that flavonoids obtained were xanthohumol, the principal prenylflavonoid in hops.

Recent progress in supercritical fluid science for biofuel production from woody biomass

Owing to an environment-friendly utilization of resources, increased attention has been focused on fuels and chemicals from biomass as an alternative to fossil resources. In addition, supercritical fluid technology has been considered to be an environmentally-benign treatment. Therefore, its technology was applied for a conversion of biomass to useful fuels and chemicals in order to mitigate environmental loading. For example, supercritical water treatment has demonstrated that lignocellulosics can be hydrolyzed to become lignin-derived products for useful aromatic chemicals and carbohydrate-derived products, such as polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and monosaccharides of glucose, mannose and xylose used for subsequent ethanol fermentation. If this treatment is prolonged, lignocellulosics were found to be converted to organic acids such as formic, acetic, glycolic and lactic acids which can be converted to methane for biofuel. When alcohols, such as methanol and ethanol, were used instead of water, some other useful products were achieved, and its liquefied products were found to have a potential for liquid biofuel. In this study, therefore, our research achievements in supercritical fluid science of woody biomass will be introduced for clean and green chemistry for a sustainable environment.

Synthesis of Ti-Ce-Si Binary and Ternary Nanocomposite Photocatalyst by Supercritical Fluid Drying Technology

Ti-Ce, Ti-Si binary and Ti-Ce-Si ternary novel nanocomposite oxide photocatalysts were prepared with cheap inorganic salts TiCI4, Na2SiO3·9H2O and Ce（NO3）3·6H2O as precursors by supercritical fluid drying （SCFD） technology. The catalysts were characterized by means of XRD and TEM. The particle size of nanocomposite oxide photocatalysts synthesized by SCFD method is about 6 - 11 nm, which is smaller than those obtained by common drying method （CD）. The phase transformation from anatase to rutile was inhibited by SCFD technology. The peaks of SiO2 and CeO2 in XRD patterns indicate that a SiO2 amorphorous phase exists in all the samples and CeO2 is well dispersed on the surface of TiO2. The orthogonal test was designed to optimize the preparing conditions. It is found that ceria dop;.ng enhances the photocatalyric activity markedly, and the optimum doping of CeO2 is 0.1%. The thermal stability of photocatalyst can be improved ; the growth of particle-size and the decrease of surface area can be prohibited by doping of SlOe. Heat-treatment is a necessary factor to induce chemistry change of Ti-Si surface. The optimum heat-treating temperature is 600℃. A novel and efficient Ti-Ce-Si ternary nanocomposite was prepared by SCFI） method with strong thermal stability and high photoactivity in the photodegratation of phenol.

Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Saponins from Ginseng

Introduction Ginseng（ Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, Araliaceae） is one of the most valuable Chinese crude drugs and has been used widely for over 2000 years. Studies have demonstrated that ginseng can act on the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system and the endocrine system; it can enhance immune function and metabolism; it possesses a biomodulation action, anticancer effect, anti-stress and anti-ageing activities, and so on.

Synthesis and Characterization of TiO_2-CeO_2 Nanocomposite by Supercritical Fluid Drying

TiO_2-CeO_2 nanocomposite particles were prepared with Ce(NO_3)_3·6H_2O and TiCl_4 as precursors by the codeposition method and supercritical fluid drying (SCFD) technology. The particles prepared were characterized by means of XRD, TEM and FTIR. The results show that SCFD can give rise to the direct synthesis of the anatase TiO_2-CeO_2,and the particle size is 6～11 nm under 500 ℃ thermal-treated,smaller than that by common drying (CD). The phase transformation from anatase to rutile is inhibited by supercritical fluid drying technology. The peak of CeO_2 is not observed in XRD patterns,Ce-O band vibration was present in FTIR spectrum,which indicates that CeO_2 is well dispersed on the surface of TiO_2.

Extraction of cellulose with subcritical and Supercritical ethanol

Cotton cellulose was extracted with ethanol in sub-and supercritical states dynamically. The degree of conversion was 95.4% and the extract yield was 55.2% when cotton cellulose was non-isothermally extracted with ethanol from 20°C to 400°C. From an engineering standpoint, in the temperature range from 200°C to 320°C, the rate of extract formation could adequately be described by a second-order reaction kinetics equation with the activation energy of 105.3 kJ/mol and the pre-exponential factor of 3.53×107 s?1. With the non-isothermal experimental technique, it was possible to determine the kinetic parameters; conversion degree and extract yield by one experiment.

Fast analysis of derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil by ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography after supercritical fluid extraction enrichment

An efficient and environment-friendly method for simultaneous determination of 13 typical derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon(PAH)in petroleum-polluted soil with nitro-,oxy-and alkylfunctional group was developed using supercritical fluid extraction(SFE)followed by ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography(UHPSFC).Parameters of UHPSFC,including type of stationary phase and mobile phase modifiers,gradient elution process,backpressure,column temperature,and the flow rate of mobile phase,were systematically optimized,achieving a fast separation within4.2 min.Limits of detection(LOD)were 0.005-0.1μg mL^(-1)or 0.1-2.0 ng g^(-1),respectively,with a good repeatability(RSD<5.0%).Before UHPSFC-PDA analysis,the PAH-derivatives in soil samples were effectively enriched in 15.0 min using SFE with an online carbon nanotubes(CNTs)collection trap.The soil samples were analyzed by the proposed method and the results were verified by GC-MS.Thus,SFE equipped with an online CNTs trap followed by UHPSFC-PDA analysis,which only consumed about2.0 mL organic solvent for a whole run,has been demonstrated to be an efficient way for screening and quantitative analysis of trace-level PAH-derivatives in soil samples.