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 div erse 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 m orphology is controllable; high loadings of guest species can be achieved a nd the protein function is retained.