Production and characterization of aerogel microparticles from alginate/inulin applying supercritical drying

Abstract

The increasing demand for products from green processes has promoted the development of products that are obtained through environment-friendly techniques. Currently, the applying of nanoporous structures on the food/nutrition and pharmaceutical areas is receiving growing attention. Aerogel microparticles used as carrier can protect the target compounds from damage caused by extreme pH values, oxygen, and light, are examples of such products and can promote the target compound controlled releasing. Aerogels have unique characteristics that give them several advantages to carry target compounds. Production processes as those that use supercritical fluids are known as green technologies because they do not use toxic solvents and can dry the gel without damages to the three-dimensional network formed during gelation. The present research project aims to obtain aerogel microparticles based on alginate/inulin by supercritical CO2 drying and perform its characterization. The project is divided into five steps: i) characterization of aerogel monoliths based on alginate/inulin; ii) producing hydrogel microparticles based on alginate/inulin through emulsion method; iii) obtaining aerogel microparticles based on alginate/inulin through supercritical drying; iv) analyzing the aerogel microparticles of alginate/inulin regarding size distribution, specific surface area, pore size, pore volume, porosity, and density. The production of spherical microparticles of aerogel, with high porosity, high specific surface area, and low bulk density is expected, as well as it is hoped that supercritical technology produces aerogel particles without affecting the structural characteristics of the particles.