Precipitation of Hemicelluloses from DMSO/Water Mixtures Using Carbon Dioxide as an Antisolvent

Supercritical antisolvent precipitation is a relatively recent technology which can be used for controlled preparation of polymer particles from solutions. This is done by the addition of an antisolvent to a polymer solution causing supersaturation of the polymer, especially under supercritical conditions. The particle size of the precipitates can be adjusted mainly by the rate of supersaturation. Spherical xylan or mannan particles having a narrow particle size distribution were precipitated from hemicellulose solutions in dimethyl-sulfoxide (DMSO) or DMSO/water mixtures by carbon dioxide as an antisolvent. By depending on the type of hemicellulose, the DMSO/H2O ratio, and the precipitation conditions such as pressure and temperature, the resulting particle size can be adjusted within a wide range from less than 0.1 to more than 5 mu m. Nano- and microstructured native xylans and mannans as obtained can be used in many applications such as encapsulation of active compounds, slow release agents, or chromatographic separation materials. Copyright (C) 2008 Emmerich Haimer et al.