Supercritical fluid assisted process for the generation of cellulose acetate loaded structures, potentially useful for tissue engineering applications.

Supercritical CO2 phase inversion offers an alternative to obtain solvent free structures with short processing times and preservation of the morphology. We prepared cellulose acetate structures loaded with drug (ibuprofen) to perform experiments at pressures and temperatures ranging between 150 and 250 bars and 35 and 55 °C. The structures were properly characterized by SEM, EDX and DSC; drug controlled release experiments were also performed. Analyses showed that the operating conditions strongly influenced the structure morphology, porosity and drug release profiles. Indeed, connected microparticles, nanofibrous networks and cellular membranes were produced, which have generated different drug release profiles.