Stoja Milovanovic

• PhD
• Senior Scientific Associate at University of Belgrade Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy

This study explores the synthesis, structural, and functional properties of starch/sodium alginate aerogels prepared via two-step and multi-step solvent exchange methods, with and without calcium chloride (CaCl2) crosslinking. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that both polymers were incorporated in an aerogel matrix, while B...

There is a lack of information on pretreatments that improve the separation of biologically valuable extracts from Spirulina using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). Therefore, this study was focused on testing microwave irradiation and rapid gas decompression pretreatments for the recovery of Spirulina extracts that express antioxidant, antimic...

This study investigates the underutilized potential of agri-crops from the Asteraceae family by employing sustainable and green technologies (supercritical fluid, ultrasound, and Soxhlet extractions) to enhance the recovery of bioactive compounds. A total of 21 extracts from native and waste seeds of dandelion, milk thistle, and chamomile were syst...

The growing interest in green tea extracts for their applications in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries underscores the need for environmentally sustainable extraction methods. This study presents optimized strategies for the green recovery of bioactive compounds from Gun powder green tea leaves using Soxhlet extraction, accelerated solv...

An eco-friendly approach towards the recovery of value-added extracts from olive tree leaves with the aid of supercritical CO2 at 30 MPa was carried out. The impact of extraction temperature (35–90 °C) and presence of co-solvents (ethanol, water, and aqueous ethanol) on the total phenolic, flavonoid, and pigment content, as well as oleuropein, hydr...

The Polymer group of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy University of Belgrade deals with environment sensitive hydrogel as carriers for biomedical applications, including drug delivery, wound healing, and regenerative medicine. The first hydrogel generation synthesized in our labs was discs made of polyacrylamide and its derivatives. The s...

This study focuses on the development of bioactive materials using environmentally friendly techniques, renewable, biocompatible, and biodegradable polysaccharide, as well as natural bioactive compounds (NBCs) found in plant extracts. First, cornstarch aerogels with a porosity of 86 % and a specific surface area of 225 m2/g were produced via superc...

The study aimed toward the development of biocompatible and biodegradable polymeric films (starch-chitosan and starch-chitosan-cyclodextrin) with biologically valuable green tea leaf extract using an environmentally friendly integrated process of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and supercritical solvent impregnation (SSI). The SFE-SSI process...

Dandelion is a sustainable biomass that has occasional use in the food and pharmaceutical industry. However, commercial use of its extracts is restricted by the lack of systematic information on safety, composition, and biological activity. To broaden dandelion use, the present study brings new knowledge on extracts from dandelion seeds that could...

Interest in the separation of green tea extracts continues to grow due to its significant bioactivity, wide applicability as well as a large number of green tea species, variety of extraction techniques, and lack of systematic data. The present early stage work was intended to estimate the effect of temperature and co-solvent addition on an amount...

Green tea is considered to be a plant with a variety of health benefits due to its antioxidative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activity. Besides the most important bioactive constituents, including polyphenols, especially catechins, and flavonoids, green tea is rich in caffeine, and such complex composition makes its extract sui...

Investigations of the process of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) from dandelion were so far mainly focused on extractions from herb, leaves and root [1-3]. In the work presented here, the extraction process from seeds was investigated on a laboratory and semi-industrial scale equipment. The milled plant material with an average particle size o...

The main aim of this study was to evaluate chamomile seeds as a new source of valuable bioactive compounds. For this purpose, a green extraction technique was employed with supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) as a solvent and ethanol as a co-solvent. The extracts from chamomile seeds with an average particle size of 0.20 mm were extracted at pres...

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the oils from chamomile seeds as a new source of bioactive compounds suitable for human consumption. A green extraction technique with supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) at pressures up to 450 bar and temperatures up to 60 °C was employed for the production of a high amount of biologically active oil. A...

This review provides a concise overview of up-to-date developments in the processing of neat poly(lactic acid) (PLA), improvement in its properties, and preparation of advanced materials using a green medium (CO2 under elevated pressure). Pressurized CO2 in the dense and supercritical state is a superior alternative medium to organic solvents, as i...

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2) application in the pharmaceutical industry is still undeveloped regardless of significant research interests in this processing medium shown in the last decades. ScCO 2 technologies can improve drug solubility, bioavailability, and therapeutic effect. These technologies can lead to the development of new formul...

The aim of the present study was to investigate starch-based materials, prepared in an environmentally friendly way and from renewable resources, suitable for the development of biodegradable active food packaging. For this purpose, a bioactive compound (thymol) was incorporated into thermoplastic starch (TPS) and a TPS blend with poly (ε-caprolact...

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is becoming an industry valuable crop due to the increase in its utilization in the food and phytopharmaceutical industry. Nonetheless, its application is still limited especially considering its extracts. Therefore, this study was aimed at exploring dandelion seeds as a source of bioactive compounds. For this purpo...

The present study was intended to explore dandelion seeds as a new source of biologically active constituents using an environmentally friendly extraction technique. The process-function relationships were determined by following the influence of temperature (40 and 60 °C) and pressure (from 100 to 450 bar) on the amount of separated extract, its d...

The aim of this study was to provide insights into parameters that affect the oil extraction from an industrially valuable raw material (milk thistle) using green solvent supercritical CO2. The effect of plant origin, cultivation year, and seeds storage on extraction yield has been explored. Furthermore, the effects of high-pressure unit design and...

The present study was focused on improving the supercritical fluid extraction process dedicated to the recovery of highly valuable extract from Silybum marianum seeds. At first, the process was tested using supercritical CO2 at temperatures of 40 and 80 °C and pressures ranging from 100 to 300 bar. Obtained values were described using two literatur...

The aim of the present study was the utilization of supercritical CO2 as a green medium in various processes: starch gel drying, supercritical extraction from hemp seed flour (SCE process), hemp seed oil (HSO) impregnation (SCI process), as well as integrated process of hemp seed flour (HSF) extraction and starch gels impregnation (SCE-SCI process)...

Chitosan/gelatin and chitosan/gelatin/zeolite films prepared by solvent casting method were impregnated with a mixture of thymol and carvacrol using a green solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide at 35°C and 30 MPa, during 18 h. Proposed method enabled preparation of biocompatible and biodegradable blends with strong antioxidant and antibacterial ac...

Extracts from Silybum marianum seeds have high industrial potential due to their application as phytopharmaceuticals and food. In order to optimize its production, conventional extraction (in Soxhlet apparatus using solvents ethanol and n-hexane) and supercritical fluid extraction (using CO2 at the pressure of 30 MPa and temperature of 40 °C with a...

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum, Asteraceae) is a plant used in traditional medicine from ancient times mostly for treatment of liver disorders [1,2]. Nowadays it is an industrially valuable crop for preparation of herbal supplements reaching total sales of 16 million USD in the USA market [2]. The separation of valuable bioactive compounds from pla...

In this work, we examine two modifications of fine-ground calcium carbonate material (GCC) in order to enhanced sorption of NO2 and subsequent reaction properties toward NO2⁻/NO3⁻ formation by firstly exposing the GCC to supercritical (sc) CO2 in order to increase particle surface area, a choice specifically made to avoid altering the surface chemi...

Outbreak of surgical infections and bacterial resistance against synthetic antibiotic has prompted research towards development of antibacterial medical devices. For that purpose, absorbable surgical sutures were impregnated with natural compound thymol using an environmentally friendly medium. The supercritical solvent impregnation process was per...

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) stands out as the most promising biodegradable alternative to conventional petrochemical‐based polymers for manufacturing of high‐performance materials applied in medicine, pharmacy, food, textile, and electronic industry. This review was aimed to present the conventional and up‐to‐date technologies for PLA processing includ...

Porous acetate cellulose (CA) beads were tested as carriers for thymol, eugenol and carvacrol, natural compounds well known for their biological activity. For this purpose, selected compounds were impregnated into CA using the environmentally friendly medium, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). Firstly, impregnation of CA with thymol was tested i...

This study was aimed to prepare material with high porosity and photocatalytic activity by immobili-zation of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) onto poly(lactic acid) (PLA) aerogels. PLA aerogels were prepared in three steps: (1) dissolution of polymer in chloroform at 22 °C, (2) chloroform replacement with ethanol, and (3) supercritical CO2-drying at press...

The release of industrial wastewater into the ecosystem prompted our research on the development of an efficient and biodegradable material that can be used for wastewater treatment. We optimized preparation of porous material from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) by variation in solvents and drying methods (air-drying vs. supercritical CO2-drying). In addi...

The coupling of supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical solvent impregnation processes has been proved to be convenient in cases where the active substance, to be incorporated in the solid carrier, is supercritical extract. The integrated process enables minimizing the loss of the extract by directly using the supercritical CO2-extract sol...

Starch is an abundant and low-cost polysaccharide obtained from renewable resources. Biocompatibility, biodegradability, and versatility of starch enable its application in several industries including food and pharmaceutical. In this work, supercritical CO2 drying process was tested for preparation of stable and porous starch-based material. Firs...

Supercritical CO2 impregnation process was tested for incorporation of hemp seed oil into biocompatible polymers (starch xerogel, starch aerogel, α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin, and γ-cyclodextrin).

This study investigates pharmaceutical polymers (Soluplus®, HPMCAS, and Eudragit® E100) and supercritical CO2-assisted process for preparation of floating valsartan delivery systems. Tested process (at pressure of 30 MPa and temperature of 100 °C during 2 h) enabled preparation of stable porous valsartan formulations which was confirmed with FESEM...

This study aimed to investigate the potential of the most abundant red grape variety from the central part of Serbia (the region of three Morava rivers) for grape oil manufacturing, using supercritical CO2 extraction. The content of the main constituents of grape seed oils from the indigenous variety Prokupac was determined and the results of the a...

In this work, the extraction by supercritical carbon dioxide of grapeseed oil from five red grape varieties was investigated. Apart from an indigenous variety Prokupac, as the domestic, and Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as international grape varieties the most represented in the Republic of Serbia, Pinot Noir and Gamay were studied as well. Extra...

Silybum marianum seeds are classified as major dietary supplements thanks to its oil composition and fatty acids. Its extracts contain unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E and flavonoids. The aim of the present work is to compare extracts obtained by conventional and supercritical fluid extraction techniques considering extraction yield and compositi...

The invention relates to the novel and innovative procedure comprising the combined extraction-impregnation process using supercritical carbon dioxide for obtaining the extract from Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch. Bip., Asteraceae impregnated into polysaccharide derivatives rich in parthenolide, which exhibited unusual and unexpected stability durin...

Porous materials obtained from biodegradable and/or biocompatible polymers have gained significant attention due their excellent properties and applicability in different industries. Among technologies for production of porous materials, supercritical CO2 processes stand out. Aerogels and foams obtained by supercritical drying and foaming in this s...

This study explores utilization of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers for controlled release of natural bioactive substance. For that purpose, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) beads, cellulose acetate (CA) film, and poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) flakes were impregnated with thymol by employing environmentally friendly process of supercritical...

The present work is aimed towards designing advanced materials by means of sustainable processes. In that sense, the utilization of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) for processing of pharmaceutical polymers (Soluplus®, Eudragit®, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate), alone and with an addition of cardiovascular drug Carvedilol, was explore...

Amorphous, medical grade poly(d,l-lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were used to develop systems for controlled release of a natural bioactive substance - thymol. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) was successfully used both as an impregnation medium for thymol incorporation into the polymer matrix and a foaming agen...

Solid dispersions production is one of the substantial approaches for improvement of poor drug solubility. Additionally, supercritical fluid assisted method for preparation of solid dispersions can offer many advantages in comparison to the conventional melting or solvent-evaporation methods. Miscibility analysis provides valuable guidance for sele...

This study discusses the possibility of immobilization of colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) onto poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) beads and foams that could be utilized for the removal of textile dyes from water by photodegradation. PCL foams were fabricated by environmentally friendly treatment of PCL beads in supercritical carbon dioxide. PCL beads an...

Thermal properties of extrusion and injection grade polylactic acid (PLA) were analysed using high pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HP-DSC) under CO2 pressures of up to 50 MPa. The greatest depression of melting point and degree of crystallinity of the samples occurred at 20-30 MPa (~97-115 °C). Batch and semi-continuous processes for su...

This study discusses the potential of high pressure (supercritical and liquid) CO2 impregnation to load electrospun polyamide nanofibers with thymol as an antimicrobial agent. The influence of selected pressures and temperatures on the thymol impregnation yield has been evaluated. High pressure impregnation provided superior thymol impregnation yie...

This study discusses a novel approach for fabrication of floating photocatalyst which can be efficiently exploited for photodegradation of dyes in aqueous solutions. A fabrication of the floating photocatalyst consisted of two steps: transformation of the poly(ε-caprolactone) beads (PCLb) into poly(ε-caprolactone) foam (PCLf) with porous structure...

This study discusses utilization of supercritical carbon dioxide for impregnation of cellulose acetate films with thymol in order to produce material with anti-biofilm activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Analysis of anti-biofilm activity of cellulose acetate beads impregnated with thymol suggested that optimal thymol...

Biodegradable polymers with antibacterial properties are highly desirable materials for active food packaging applications. Thymol, a dietary monoterpene phenol with a strong antibacterial activity is abundant in plants belonging to the genus Thymus. This study presents two approaches for supercritical CO2 impregnation of poly(lactic acid)(PLA)/pol...

Cellulose acetate films were impregnated with carvacrol using supercritical carbon dioxide. The supercritical impregnation process, conducted in a static regime at pressure of 21 MPa and temperature of 50 °C, was optimized by variation in the processing time (30 and 120 min) and decompression rate (from 0.3 MPa/min to 36 MPa/min). Characterization...

Microwave radiation was suggested as a pretreatment technique to increase the yield of pomegranate seed oil. Seeds were pretreated at 100, 250 and 600 W during 2 and 6 min and then extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) in high pressure unit as well as by n-hexane in Soxhlet apparatus. Even at the lowest microwave pretreatment parameters...

Supercritical CO 2 was used as a green solvent and impregnation medium for loading cellulose acetate beads with carvacrol in order to obtain a biomaterial with antibacterial properties. Supercritical solvent impregnation was performed in a high-pressure view cell at temperature of 50°C and pressures of 10, 21, and 30 MPa with the processing time ra...

The use of cotton in wound dressing applications is discussed in this chapter. Cotton gauze provides flexibility, controlled adherence to the surrounding tissue, gas permeability, durability and absorbance of fluids exuded from the wound but doesn’t provide therapeutic treatment. Therapeutic effect can be provided by incorporation of an active ingr...

Supercritical CO2 extraction of Helichrysum italicum and impregnation of starch xerogels with the extract by using an integrated scCO2 extraction and impregnation process were performed at 350 bar and 40°C in order to produce biomaterials for possible oral intake of the extract. Xerogels produced by air-drying of acetogels and alcogels were used as...

Thermodynamic properties of extrusion and injection grade polylactide samples determined by differential calorimetry under high CO2 pressure (5.5-50.0 MPa) were used to design and optimize CO2 foaming and impregnation processes. Pressure of 30 MPa and temperatures of 100-110 °C were chosen for the production of microporous PLA foams loaded with 1.1...

The chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of Thymus praecox extracts obtained by fractional supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with carbon dioxide were investigated. Properties of supercritical extracts and extracts obtained by Soxhlet extraction were compared. The chemical composition of extracts was determined using GC–FI...

Cellulose acetate (CA) was investigated as a carrier towards development of material with controlled release of thymol as a natural substance with strong antibacterial properties using high pressure techniques. Effect of thymol content on CA was confirmed by SEM, FTIR and DSC methods. Kinetic of thymol release from CA was tested using simulated gas...

Modification of native starch enables fabrication of a broad spectrum of technologically valuable products for food and non-food applications. Given the increased public concern about food safety and rigorous environmental regulations, a special attention is paid to non-thermal and organic solvent-free treatments of the starch-based materials. Supe...

The present work was aimed to study swelling kinetics of polylactic acid (PLA) and its impregnation with thymol in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) medium. The influences of temperature and soaking time on the swelling kinetics and impregnation yield of PLA cylindrical disc and film were investigated. Swelling experiments were performed in a hi...

The present study was aimed to investigate swelling kinetics of polylactic acid (PLA) and its impregnation with thymol in the supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) medium. Thymol was used as an impregnation agent because of its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The influences of pressure, temperature, soaking time, thymol...

Integrated supercritical extraction and impregnation (SCE-SCI) process was proposed for plant material extraction and impregnation of the obtained extract into polymeric carriers in order to fabricate added value solvent-free materials. Valuable natural bioactive compounds were extracted from Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and hop (Humulus lupulus) and s...

The potential of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) processing of polycaprolactone (PCL) and polycaprolactone-hydroxyapatite (PCL-HA) composites for obtaining functional porous scaffolds at moderate temperatures (35–40 °C) was analyzed and quantified. The effect of scCO2 sorption kinetics on the swelling, foam morphology and thermal behavior of t...

This study discusses the possibility of impregnation of polypropylene (PP) and corona modified PP non-woven material with thymol in supercritical solvent in order to fabricate eco-friendly antimicrobial textile material. Carbon dioxide was used as a working fluid. The morphological changes on the PP fiber surface induced by corona treatment at atmo...

To download full text until 23.01.2015.: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Q8Xp3Bwpeekns Present work was aimed to investigate supercritical solvent impregnation of thymol into cellulose acetate in order to explore the possibility of developing a new functionalized solventfree material with antimicrobial properties. Impregnation experiments were carr...

In this study, for the first time, the supercritical solvent impregnation (SSI) technique has been used to test the incorporation of thymol into starch gels. Corn and tapioca starch hydrogels prepared at different temperatures (70–100°C) were converted to the acetogels and subsequently dried with supercritical CO2 or air to obtain aero- or xerogels...

Supercritical solvent impregnation process was selected for thymol incorporation into chitosan gels, for developing medically applicable solvent-free materials. Chitosan hydrogels, prepared with cross-linkers, were converted to acetogels and subsequently dried with supercritical CO2 or air. Morphology of obtained dry gels was analyzed by SEM and BE...

To download the book: http://oic.lublin.pl/ins/index.php In this chapter, a great potential of high pressure impregnations using carbon dioxide for wide applications will be highlighted. Advantages of coupled high pressure extraction – adsorption process will be presented. The coupled process will be demonstrated on the example of hop extract incor...

The present study was aimed to compare different mathematical models used to simulate process of supercritical extraction from commercially important Lamiaceae herbs. Supercritical extractions with carbon dioxide from rosemary, sage, thyme and lavender originated from the southern Balkan region were performed at 10 MPa and 40°C. Obtained extraction...