Floating Ricobendazole Delivery Systems: A 3D Printing Method by Co-Extrusion of Sodium Alginate and Calcium Chloride

Abstract

At present, the use of benzimidazole drugs in veterinary medicine is strongly limited by both pharmacokinetics and formulative issues. In this research, the possibility of applying an innovative semi-solid extrusion 3D printing process in a co-axial configuration was speculated, with the aim of producing a new gastro-retentive dosage form loaded with ricobendazole. To obtain the drug delivery system (DDS), the ionotropic gelation of alginate in combination with a divalent cation during the extrusion was exploited. Two feeds were optimized in accordance with the printing requirements and the drug chemical properties: the crosslinking ink, i.e., a water ethanol mixture containing CaCl2 at two different ratios 0.05 M and 0.1 M, hydroxyethyl cellulose 2% w/v, Tween 85 0.1% v/v and Ricobendazole 5% w/v; and alginate ink, i.e., a sodium alginate solution at 6% w/v. The characterization of the dried DDS obtained from the extrusion of gels containing different amounts of calcium chloride showed a limited effect on the ink extrudability of the crosslinking agent, which on the contrary strongly influenced the final properties of the DDS, with a difference in the polymeric matrix toughness and resulting effects on floating time and drug release.

Fused Deposition Modelling 3D-Printed Gastro-Retentive Floating Device for Propranolol Hcl Tablets

“…Moreover, FDM 3D printing technique has also been explored to develop mini floating polypills for the personalized treatment of Parkinson's disease [31]. The PAM technique is used to develop different geometries with low density that imparts floating characteristics to the developed gastric floating systems [32][33][34][35][36]. Recently, a gastro-floating tablet of famotidine was designed by using the SSE-based printing technique.…”

Application of Calcium Alginate Hydrogels in Semisolid Extrusion 3D Printed for the Production of Easy‐to‐Swallow Tablets

“…Relying on the increased literature data on the printing requirements of hydrogels in 3D printing, [49,50] the alginate could become one of the most interesting matrices for drug delivery production via SSE 3D printing. [51,52] In a previous article of research group, a method for the preparation of crosslinked alginate hydrogels characterized by high printing performance has been established. [53] Moreover, an interesting aspect of this crosslinked alginate hydrogel is its high embedding capacity that could be exploited to modify the DDS performance.…”

Biomaterials of human source for 3D printing strategies

“…Nevertheless, these ionic interaction systems are mainly used for the 3D bioprinting of sodium alginate, a natural-based and biocompatible polysaccharide that is negatively charged. This ionic interaction can be pursued by co-extrusion of alginate and calcium chloride [176], extrusion of alginate-based inks into calcium chloride support baths/layers [177], or even by pre-gelifying alginate before extrusion, requiring low concentrations of ionic crosslinker [178]. Many researchers combine other natural-based materials with alginate to obtain an ink comprising alginates' physical and rheological proprieties along with the biological relevance of the materials of interest [119,179,180].…”