TY - JOUR
T1 - 3D printing of a multi-layered polypill containing six drugs using a novel stereolithographic method
AU - Robles-Martinez, Pamela
AU - Xu, Xiaoyan
AU - Trenfield, Sarah J.
AU - Awad, Atheer
AU - Goyanes, Alvaro
AU - Telford, Richard
AU - Basit, Abdul W.
AU - Gaisford, Simon
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: The authors thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK for their financial support (EP/L01646X).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has demonstrated great potential for multi-material fabrication because of its capability for printing bespoke and spatially separated material conformations. Such a concept could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry, enabling the production of personalised, multi-layered drug products on demand. Here, we developed a novel stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printing method that, for the first time, can be used to fabricate multi-layer constructs (polypills) with variable drug content and/or shape. Using this technique, six drugs, including paracetamol, caffeine, naproxen, chloramphenicol, prednisolone and aspirin, were printed with different geometries and material compositions. Drug distribution was visualised using Raman microscopy, which showed that whilst separate layers were successfully printed, several of the drugs diffused across the layers depending on their amorphous or crystalline phase. The printed constructs demonstrated excellent physical properties and the different material inclusions enabled distinct drug release profiles of the six actives within dissolution tests. For the first time, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of SLA printing as an innovative platform for multi-drug therapy production, facilitating a new era of personalised polypills.
AB - Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has demonstrated great potential for multi-material fabrication because of its capability for printing bespoke and spatially separated material conformations. Such a concept could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry, enabling the production of personalised, multi-layered drug products on demand. Here, we developed a novel stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printing method that, for the first time, can be used to fabricate multi-layer constructs (polypills) with variable drug content and/or shape. Using this technique, six drugs, including paracetamol, caffeine, naproxen, chloramphenicol, prednisolone and aspirin, were printed with different geometries and material compositions. Drug distribution was visualised using Raman microscopy, which showed that whilst separate layers were successfully printed, several of the drugs diffused across the layers depending on their amorphous or crystalline phase. The printed constructs demonstrated excellent physical properties and the different material inclusions enabled distinct drug release profiles of the six actives within dissolution tests. For the first time, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of SLA printing as an innovative platform for multi-drug therapy production, facilitating a new era of personalised polypills.
KW - 3D printed drug products
KW - Additive manufacturing
KW - Fixed-dose combinations
KW - Multiple-layer dosage forms
KW - Personalized medicines
KW - Printlets
KW - Stereolithography
KW - Tablets
KW - Three-dimensional printing
KW - Vat polymerisation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067612279&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/pharmaceutics11060274
DO - 10.3390/pharmaceutics11060274
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85067612279
SN - 1999-4923
VL - 11
JO - Pharmaceutics
JF - Pharmaceutics
IS - 6
M1 - 274
ER -