Supercritical fluid mixing: preparation of thermally sensitive polymer composites containing bioactive materials

We report the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) to create a diverse range of polymeric composites incorporating thermal and solvent labile guest materials such as proteins; no additional co-solvents are required; the entire process can be carried out at near ambient conditions; polymer morphology is controllable; high loadings of guest species can be achieved and the protein function is retained.