Production of microparticles of PHBV polymer impregnated with progesterone by supercritical fluid technology

This work reports the synthesis of particles based on poly(3-hydroxybutirate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) polymer that were impregnated with progesterone. The PHBV particles were obtained by supercritical CO2 (scCO(2)) anti-solvent expansion (SAS). scCO(2) was also used at a high pressure (25MPa) and moderate temperature (323K) for the impregnation of progesterone into the PHBV particles at different impregnation times. In vitro release tests showed that the half-time of progesterone release in a hydro-alcoholic medium, for the samples produced with impregnation times of 2-32h, was 3-5h, with the higher release times generally related to smaller impregnation times.