Supercritical fluid extraction: Present status and prospects

Abstract

Supercritical extraction (SFE), using primarily environmentally-benign carbon dioxide (CO2) as the extracting agent, is reviewed with respect to its present status and future use. SFE was developed for analytical application in the mid 1980's in response to the desire to reduce the use of organic solvents in the laboratory environment and is becoming a standard method for the preparation and analysis of lipid-containing sample matrices. Currently, analytical SFE is predominately practiced in the off-line mode, using both sequential and parallel extraction modes. Depending on the instrumental configuration, the preparation of up to 24 samples can be accomplished on one instrument on a daily basis. Several other benefits can be achieved using SFE, such as the processing of thermally-sensitive analytes and rapid analyte extraction kinetics relative to extraction with liquid solvents. Examples are provided not only of the analytical SFE of oils and fats, but of volatile solutes from an array of sample types. Finally, the relevance of analytical SEE to processing with supercritical fluids (SFs) is documented using examples from our own research involving a combinatorial approach to optimising processing conditions.