Controlled Release of Felodipine from 3D-Printed Tablets with Constant Surface Area: Influence of Surface Geometry

Abstract

In this study, 3D-printed tablets with a constant surface area were designed and fabricated using polylactic acid (PLA) in the outer compartment and polyvinyl alcohol and felodipine (FDP) in the inner compartment. The influences of different surface geometries of the inner compartment, namely, round, hexagon, square, and triangle, on drug release from 3D-printed tablets were also studied. The morphology and porosity of the inner compartment were determined using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy, respectively. Additionally, drug content and drug release were also evaluated. The results revealed that the round-shaped geometry seemed to have the greatest total surface area of the inner compartment, followed by square-shaped, hexagon-shaped, and triangle-shaped geometries. FDP-loaded 3D-printed tablets with triangle and hexagon surface geometries had the slowest drug release (about 80% within 24 h). In the round-shaped and square-shaped 3D-printed tablets, complete drug release was observed within 12 h. Furthermore, the drug release from triangle-shaped 3D-printed tablets with double the volume of the inner compartment was faster than that of a smaller volume. This was due to the fact that a larger tablet volume increased the surface area contacting the medium, resulting in a faster drug release. The findings indicated that the surface geometry of 3D-printed tablets with a constant surface area affected drug release. This study suggests that 3D printing technology may be used to develop oral solid dosage forms suitable for customized therapeutic treatments.

Bioactive glass doped with zinc-based metal–organic frameworks (Zn/MOF) nanoparticles for antibiotic delivery applications

“…Specific surface area measurements are critical parameters for drug delivery systems, because they dictate various aspects such as pore size and volume, which govern [34,35].…”

“…This large surface area is very important for tissue regeneration, cell proliferation, and migration [37]. Moreover, it is a vital parameter for drug loading and release from porous nanomaterials [34,35].…”

A Bibliometric Analysis of 3D Printing in Personalized Medicine Research from 2012 to 2022

“…For example, Alvaro Goyanes and his team demonstrated that the release of tablets is independent of the surface area of a drug and depends on the surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA/V), which was determined using printing tablets with different geometries and by observing the rates of drug release [31]. This provided a reference for later researchers in developing different drug release rates via changing the geometries of drugs [32,33]. The red and blue clusters are mainly based on theoretical research on innovative topics such as technical method improvement and innovation [8,10,34].…”

“…In addition to changing the drug release rate by changing the substrate or drug formulation, other studies have shown that the surface area/volume ratio affects the drug release rate [33]. Under the condition of a constant surface area, the larger volume of a geometric shape increases porosity, resulting in faster drug release.…”