4. Conclusions
The Tm and Ts of the studied lipid mixtures were affected by the pressure; they decreased with increasing pressure up to a pressure of 150 bar and then began to increase linearly with the increase in pressure. Based on Tm behavior, it was observed that the temperature of 60 ° C ensures that both pure beeswax and mixtures of beeswax with edible oils are melted at pressures equal to or greater than 50 bar, however, to ensure that the CO2 present in the medium is in the supercritical state, pressures greater than 75 bar are recommended, which indicates that these materials are potential carriers for lipid particles loaded with bioactive compounds formed by supercritical precipitation using CO2 as a solvent.
The higher the pressure applied in the process, the higher the solubility of the CO2 in lipid mixtures and the greater the volumetric expansion observed, in the studied pressure range.
These results could be used, as a preliminary study, for the design of lipid particles loaded with bioactive compounds by supercritical CO2 technology employing at moderate temperature to be used in the formulation of innovative and functional food and pharmacological products.