Applications of essential oils as chemotherapeutics are limited because these aromatic oils are generally volatile, insoluble in aqueous media and easily degraded to non-active constituents when subjected to thermal-oxidative processes. The particles from gas-saturated solution (PGSS) technology allows for non-destructive processing of volatile oils into micronized formulations under high pressure and moderate temperature using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂). In this study, essential oil from lime (Citrus aurantifolia) with proven antidiabetic activity was processed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and lauric acid (LA) using scCO₂ in a high pressure reactor for 2 h at 120 bar and 45 °C. The polymer-oil mixtures were co-precipitated and micronized through a 500 μm nozzle. PGSS processing of C. aurantifolia oil with PEG and LA yielded roughly spherical microparticles with sizes ∼ 2 μm. Inclusion of the LA and encapsulation of the limonene-rich oil into the PEG particles were confirmed using FTIR and GC/MS respectively. Melting point and heat of fusion of the PEG/LA microparticles were lower when compared with particles produced with PEG only, resulting in higher oil loading capacity and yield. The scCO₂-assisted polymeric encapsulation of the volatile oil reduced rapid vaporization and incorporation of LA with the PEG-oil formulation extended the mean release time in simulated physiological solutions. Free radical scavenging and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities of the lime oil were also preserved following encapsulation in the PEG/LA microparticles. In summary, production of PEG/LA microparticles with high yield and loading capacity of bioactive lime essential oil was achieved using the scCO₂ encapsulation technology.

香精油作为化学治疗剂的应用受到限制，因为这些芳族油通常易挥发，不溶于水介质，并且在进行热氧化过程时容易降解为非活性成分。来自气体饱和溶液（PGSS）技术的颗粒允许使用超临界二氧化碳（scCO ₂）在高压和中等温度下将挥发油无损加工成微粉化配方。在这项研究中，使用scCO _2将聚乙二醇（PEG）和月桂酸（LA）加工出具有抗糖尿病活性的石灰（Citrus aurantifolia）精油。在高压反应器中于120 bar和45°C下放置2 h。将聚合物-油混合物共沉淀并通过500μm喷嘴微粉化。的PGSS处理C. aurantifolia用PEG和LA油，得到大致球形的微粒与尺寸〜2微米。分别使用FTIR和GC / MS确认了LA的包入和富柠檬烯油的包封在PEG颗粒中。当与仅用PEG生产的颗粒相比时，PEG / LA微粒的熔点和熔化热较低，从而导致更高的载油量和产率。scCO ₂挥发油的辅助聚合物包封减少了快速蒸发，并且将LA与PEG油配方结合使用可延长模拟生理溶液中的平均释放时间。封装在PEG / LA微粒中后，还保留了石灰油的自由基清除和α-淀粉酶抑制活性。总之，使用scCO ₂包封技术实现了具有高收率和生物活性石灰精油负载量的PEG / LA微粒的生产。