Drug Incorporation into Polymer Filament Using Simple Soaking Method for Tablet Preparation Using Fused Deposition Modeling

Abstract

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is expanding in various fields. The application of 3D printing is expected to increase in the pharmaceutical industry after 3D-printed tablets were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Fused deposition modeling (FDM), a type of 3D printing, has been extensively studied for the manufacturing of tablets. A drug-loaded polymer filament, the ink of FDM 3D printers, can be prepared using the hot melt extrusion method or a simple drug-soaking method. In the present study, we investigate the influence of the experimental conditions on the loading of curcumin (model drug with fluorescence) into a polyvinylalcohol polymer filament using the soaking method. We show that organic solvent type (isopropanol, methanol, acetone, and ethanol), temperature (25 and 80°C), and drug concentration (2-333 mg/mL) greatly affect drug loading. Around 5% curcumin can be incorporated into the polyvinylalcohol filament using the soaking method. The drug dissolution from 3D-printed tablets depends on the drug content in the polymer filament. The incorporation of a higher amount of curcumin, which has poor water solubility, greatly delays drug dissolution. These results provide useful information on the preparation of 3D-printed tablets using a drug-loaded polymer filament obtained with the soaking method.

Production of Drug Delivery Systems Using Fused Filament Fabrication: A Systematic Review

“…Subsequently, the filament that contains the carrier polymer is soaked and conditioned in the prepared system for a certain period of time to assure diffusion into the polymeric matrix. It is worth noting that only one publication stated preparing a dispersion system [ 18 ], while all other publications that used this approach prepared a solution system. This method greatly depends on the swelling of the polymers when submerged in certain solvents.…”

Investigations of process parameters during dissolution studies of drug loaded 3D printed tablets

“…3 PVA filaments were placed in an ethanoic solution of fluorescein (2% w/v) with magnetic stirring for 24 h. The drug-loaded filaments (refer Figure 1(a)) were removed and dried in an oven to constant weight (1.5 h at 60°C) and stored in a vacuum desiccator until printing. 13…”

Design and characterization of 3D printed, neomycin-eluting poly-L-lactide mats for wound-healing applications

“…Once printed, mats were stored in a sealed container containing silica gel desiccant. A soaking method described previously in literature [54] was used to incorporate the PEG. Briefly, the printed mats were heated to 65 ± 5°C on a glass petri dish placed on a hot plate and cut into smaller dimensions of 1 × 1 × 0.4 mm.…”