Active principles of a drug can be encapsulated through polymers in order to prevent adverse reactions and protect its properties. The aim of this work was the use of the supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process to co-precipitate shrimp residue extract and polymer. The shrimp residue was pre-treated and macerated with acetone, producing the carotenoid extract. The effect of the operating parameters of the SAS precipitation was performed in small and large scale units, using Plutonic F127. The Supercritical Fluid Extraction of an Emulsion (SFEE) was also applied for the co-precipitation using modified starch. The encapsulation performance was evaluated by morphology and particle size, efficiency of astaxanthin encapsulation and color stability. It was possible to micro-precipitate the carotenoid extract with Pluronic F127 by SAS, with an encapsulation efficiency of up to 74%. Nano-emulsion produced by SFEE presented the highest encapsulation performance and the lowest particle size. All particles produced by SAS and by SFEE obtained better color preservation compared to the crude extract. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.