3D Printing of Personalised Carvedilol Tablets Using Selective Laser Sintering

The Future of Medicine: How 3D Printing Is Transforming Pharmaceuticals

Three-dimensional printing technology is transforming pharmaceutical manufacturing by shifting from conventional mass production to additive manufacturing, with a strong emphasis on personalized medicine. The integration of bioinks and AI-driven optimization is further enhancing this innovation, enabling drug production with precise dosages, tailored drug-release profiles, and unique multi-drug combinations that respond to individual patient needs. This advancement is significantly impacting healthcare by accelerating drug development, encouraging innovative pharmaceutical designs, and enhancing treatment efficacy. Traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing follows a one-size-fits-all approach, which often fails to meet the specific requirements of patients with unique medical conditions. In contrast, 3D printing, coupled with bioink formulations, allows for on-demand drug production, reducing dependency on large-scale manufacturing and storage. AI-powered design and process optimization further refine dosage forms, printability, and drug release mechanisms, ensuring precision and efficiency in drug manufacturing. These advancements have the potential to lower overall healthcare costs while improving patient adherence to medication regimens. This review explores the potential, challenges, and environmental benefits of 3D pharmaceutical printing, positioning it as a key driver of next-generation personalized medicine.

Selective laser sintering for printing bilayer tablets

In this study Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was used to produce bilayer tablets containing rosuvastatin and acetylsalicylic acid. Initially, monolithic tablets of each drug were manufactured using different laser intensities in order to identify their impact on the tablet's dissolution, friability and hardness. After the optimization, the final bilayer tablet was fabricated using a new method, that allowed the printing using different powder blends. For that, a 3D-printed casing was employed to maintain the compartments of the tablet in the correct position during the printing process. The results demonstrated that the increased laser intensities led to denser inner cores, enhanced hardness, decreased friability, and slower drug release. Moreover, the new method was able to produce bilayer tablets completely aligned, showing a minor impact on dissolution when the two compartments were printed together in a single tablet. The work demonstrated the feasibility of using SLS in the production of multi-material drug delivery systems.

3D printed gastroretentive floating-hollow capsular device (GRF-HCD) for levofloxacin oral delivery using selective laser sintering (SLS) platform technology

The development of gastroretentive drug delivery systems is one such instance, which was developed to improve the oral bioavailability and effectiveness of drugs, which has a poor absorption window in the upper GIT and/or triggers local activity such as duodenal and stomach activity. In this work, the objective of sintering gastroretentive dosage forms was to sustain the release of levofloxacin in the gastric region for an extended period of time. Selective laser sintering (SLS)-mediated powder bed fusion 3D printing technology was utilized to design and fabricate a modified-release gastroretentive floating-hollow capsular device (GRF-HCD) in three distinct capsule sizes namely, 000, 00, and 0 with the aid of pharmaceutical grade polymers (combinations of Kolliphor P188 and Kollidon SR in 1:1 ratio). Sintered GRF-HCD was further subjected to morphological analysis, weight variation, and swelling index. In addition, in vitro and in vivo buoyancy studies were performed in an animal model using X-ray imaging. Finally, the in vitro drug release from GRF-HCD was performed in simulated gastric pH condition (pH-1.2) upto 12 h. Levofloxacin concentration was then quantified using validated RP-HPLC method. The in vitro floating behaviour was mimicked with the in vivo floating, where the GRF-HCD was retained in the rabbit stomach for an extended period which will help to sustain the drug release for a longer period and maintained the maximum concentration of levofloxacin in the gastric region.

Selective Laser Sintering 3D Printing of Carvedilol Tablets: Enhancing Dissolution Through Amorphization

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one of the most promising 3D printing techniques for pharmaceutical applications as it offers numerous advantages, such as suitability to work with already approved pharmaceutical excipients, the elimination of solvents, and the ability to produce fast-dissolving, porous dosage forms with high drug loading. When the powder mixture is exposed to elevated temperatures during SLS printing, the active ingredients can be converted from the crystalline to the amorphous state, which can be used as a strategy to improve the dissolution rate and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. This study investigates the potential application of SLS 3D printing for the fabrication of tablets containing the poorly soluble drug carvedilol with the aim of improving the dissolution rate of the drug by forming an amorphous form through the printing process.

METHODS

Using SLS 3D printing, eight tablet formulations were produced using two different powder mixtures and four combinations of experimental conditions, followed by physicochemical characterization and dissolution testing.

RESULTS

Physicochemical characterization revealed that at least partial amorphization of carvedilol occurred during the printing process. Although variations in process parameters were minimal, higher temperatures in combination with lower laser speeds appeared to facilitate a greater degree of amorphization. Ultimately, the partial conversion to the amorphous form significantly improved the dissolution of carvedilol compared to its pure crystalline form.

CONCLUSIONS

Obtained results suggest that the SLS 3D printing technique can be effectively used to convert poorly water-soluble drugs to their amorphous state, thereby improving solubility and bioavailability.

Additive Manufacturing of SmartEx QD 100 Designed Oral Three-Dimensional Printlets Containing Isoniazid for Immediate Gastric Release by Selective Laser Sintering

The selection of appropriate materials and compatibility of selected materials with drugs and formulations are limiting steps in three-dimensional printing technology. In this study, SmartEx QD 100 (SM QD 100) was introduced as a novel, coprocessed, unexplored excipient that can be used in SLS-mediated 3D printing. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of fabricating SM QD 100 containing INH-embedded SLS-mediated immediate gastric release tablets. The prepared physical mixtures were subjected to the fabrication of 3D printlets by using SLS-mediated 3D printing. The fabricated 3D printlets were subjected to physicochemical characterization by using various analytical techniques. After oral administration of sintered 3D printlets to rabbits, samples were collected and pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed using the developed LC-APCI-MS/MS method. The optimized batch was able to release 100% INH within 15 min, which confirmed the immediate gastric release. Similarly, sintered 3D printlets were stable under accelerated stability conditions for three months. Finally, the pharmacokinetic parameters revealed the rate and extent of absorption of INH from sintered 3D printlets. As evidenced by in vitro and in vivo analyses, SM QD 100 was able to sinter SLS-mediated INH-embedded stable immediate gastric release tablets. SM QD 100 is a novel material for SLS-mediated 3D printing in pharmaceutical applications.

Application of 3D printing on the design and development of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms

3D printing technologies confer an unparalleled degree of control over the material distribution on the structures they produce, which has led them to become an extremely attractive research topic in pharmaceutical dosage form development, especially for the design of personalized treatments. With fine tuning in material selection and careful design, these technologies allow to tailor not only the amount of drug administered but the biopharmaceutical behaviour of the dosage forms as well. While fused deposition modelling (FDM) is still the most studied 3D printing technology in this area, others are gaining more relevance, which has led to many new and exciting dosage forms developed during 2022 and 2023. Considering that these technologies, in time, will join the current manufacturing methods and with the ever-increasing knowledge on this topic, our review aims to explore the advantages and limitations of 3D printing technologies employed in the design and development of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms, giving special focus to the most important aspects governing the resulting drug release profiles.

3D printed dispersible efavirenz tablets: A strategy for nasogastric administration in children

Enteral feeding tubes (EFTs) can be placed in children diagnosed with HIV which need nutritional support due to malnutrition. EFTs are the main route for medication administration in these patients, bringing up concerns about off label use of medicines, dose inaccuracy and tube clogging. Here we report for the first time the use of selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing to develop efavirenz (EFZ) dispersible printlets for patients with HIV that require EFT administration. Water soluble polymers Parteck® MXP and Kollidon® VA64 were used to obtain both 500 mg (P500 and K500) and 1000 mg printlets (P1000 and K1000) containing 200 mg of EFZ each. The use of SLS 3D printing obtained porous dosage forms with high drug content (20 % and 40 % w/w) and drug amorphization using both polymers. P500, K500 and K1000 printlets reached disintegration in under 230 s in 20 mL of water (25 ± 1 °C), whilst P1000 only partially disintegrated, possibly due to saturation of the polymer in the medium. As a result, the development of dispersible EFZ printlets using hydrophilic polymers can be explored as a potential strategy for drug delivery through EFTs in paediatrics with HIV, paving the way towards the exploration of more rapidly disintegrating polymers and excipients for SLS 3D printing.

Beyond Color Boundaries: Pioneering Developments in Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Photonic Actuators

Creatures in nature make extensive use of structural color adaptive camouflage to survive. Cholesteric liquid crystals, with nanostructures similar to those of natural organisms, can be combined with actuators to produce bright structural colors in response to a wide range of stimuli. Structural colors modulated by nano-helical structures can continuously and selectively reflect specific wavelengths of light, breaking the limit of colors recognizable by the human eye. In this review, the current state of research on cholesteric liquid crystal photonic actuators and their technological applications is presented. First, the basic concepts of cholesteric liquid crystals and their nanostructural modulation are outlined. Then, the cholesteric liquid crystal photonic actuators responding to different stimuli (mechanical, thermal, electrical, light, humidity, magnetic, pneumatic) are presented. This review describes the practical applications of cholesteric liquid crystal photonic actuators and summarizes the prospects for the development of these advanced structures as well as the challenges and their promising applications.

Powder bed fusion-laser beam (PBF-LB) three-dimensional (3D) printing: Influence of laser hatching distance on the properties of zolpidem tartrate tablets

Laser sintering, known as powder bed fusion-laser beam (PBF-LB), offers promising potential for the fabrication of patient-specific drugs. The aim of this study was to provide an insight into the PBF-LB process with regard to the process parameters, in particular the laser hatching distance, and its influence on the properties of zolpidem tartrate (ZT) tablets. PHARMACOAT® 603 was used as the polymer, while Candurin® Gold Sheen and AEROSIL® 200 were added to facilitate 3D printing. The particle size distribution of the powder blend showed that the layer height should be set to 100 µm, while the laser hatching distance was varied in five different steps (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 µm), keeping the temperature and laser scanning speed constant. Increasing the laser hatching distance and decreasing the laser energy input led to a decrease in the colour intensity, mass, density and hardness of the ZT tablets, while the disintegration and dissolution rate were faster due to the more fragile bonds between the particles. The laser hatching distance also influenced the ZT dosage, indicating the importance of this process parameter in the production of presonalized drugs. The absence of drug-polymer interactions and the amorphization of the ZT were confirmed.

Sketching feasibility of additively manufactured different size gradient conventional hollow capsular shells (HCSs) by selective laser sintering (SLS): From design to applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is widely used to fabricate 3D printed objects from Computer-aided Design (CAD) prepared using the SolidWorks CAD modelling software. Different printing techniques are used to fabricate desired 3D objects; among all these techniques, it is widely accepted that SLS is one of the most effective methods of 3D printing for fabricating drug-loaded solid oral dosage forms (SODFs) in bulk quantities using the single-step process. Different SODFs, such as pills, miniprintlets, dual miniprintlets, and tablets, were fabricated with different sizes and shapes. In this study, for the first time, we introduce SLS-mediated hollow capsular shells (HCSs) with the help of the SLS 3D printing technique. This work aimed to explore the sinterability and feasibility of sketching HCSs using the SLS-mediated sintering technique with different marketed sizes of capsules ranging from 000 to 5. Here, we have utilized Kolliphor P 188 (KP 188) and Kollidon SR (KSR) in a 1:1 ratio as a matrix-forming agent and 1% charcoal as a laser absorption-enhancing material. In accordance with the CAD models, we have fabricated the gradient conventional different sizes of HCSs ranging from 000 to 5 using the constant printing parameters and composition. Fabricated all biobased HCSs were subjected to the assessment of mechanistic and physicochemical parameters using varied analytical tools. In the current study, tartrazine dye is used to assess the release pattern from HCSs, which resulted in the modified release pattern. The adapted approach will be the futuristic approach to replace animal-based gelatin capsules with pharmaceutical-grade polymer-based HCSs with a modified release with optimum mechanical strength.