Experimental Determination and Correlation of Artemisinin's Solubility in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

• Published in: Journal of chemical and engineering data Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 1097 - 1104
• Main Authors: Coimbra, Patrícia, Blanco, Miguel R, Costa Silva, Hélio S. R, Gil, Maria H, de Sousa, Hermínio C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 11-05-2006
• Subjects: Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiparasitic agents; Biological and medical sciences; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Endoperoxide; Antimalarial; Terpenoid; Correlation; Equations of state; Sesquiterpenes; Artemisinin; Carbon dioxide; Solubility; Supercritical solvent; Parasiticide; Physicochemical properties
• ISSN: 0021-9568; 1520-5134
• DOI: 10.1021/je060015y

The measurement and correlation of the experimental solubility of the antimalarial artemisinin (Artemisia annua L.) in supercritical carbon dioxide is reported. Results were obtained using a static analytical method at 308.2, 318.2, and 328.2 K, and in a pressure range from 10.0 up to 25.0 MPa. Solubility experimental data were correlated with three density-based models (Chrastil, Bartle, and Méndez-Santiago−Teja models) and with two cubic equation of state (EOS) models, namely, the Peng−Robinson EOS and the Soave−Redlich−Kwong EOS, together with the conventional van der Waals mixing and combining rules. Good correlation results were obtained between the calculated and the experimental solubility to all fitted models. Results clearly show the feasibility of processing this antimalarial drug using supercritical fluid technologies and processes.