scholarly journals The Chronotopic™ System for Pulsatile and Colonic Delivery of Active Molecules in the Era of Precision Medicine: Feasibility by 3D Printing via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 759
Author(s):  
Alice Melocchi ◽  
Marco Uboldi ◽  
Francesco Briatico-Vangosa ◽  
Saliha Moutaharrik ◽  
Matteo Cerea ◽  
...  

The pulsatile-release Chronotopic™ system was conceived of as a drug-containing core surrounded by a coat made of swellable/soluble hydrophilic polymers, the latter being able to provide a programmable lag phase prior to drug liberation. This system was also proposed in a colon-targeting configuration, entailing a gastroresistant film to prevent early interaction of the inner coat with gastric fluids and enabling the attainment of a lag phase matching the small intestinal transit time. Over the years, various multiple-step manufacturing processes have been tested for the fabrication of the Chronotopic™ system in both its configurations. This work focused on the evaluation of 3D printing by fused deposition modeling in view of its potential towards product personalization, on demand one-step manufacturing and efficient scale down of batches. The feasibility of each part of the Chronotopic™ system was independently investigated starting from in-house made filaments, characterizing the resulting specimens for physico-technological and performance characteristics. The printing parameters identified as suitable during the set-up phase were then used to fabricate prototypes either in a single step for the pulsatile configuration or following two different fabrication approaches for the colon-targeting one.

Author(s):  
Michael A. Luzuriaga ◽  
Danielle R. Berry ◽  
John C. Reagan ◽  
Ronald A. Smaldone ◽  
Jeremiah J. Gassensmith

Biodegradable polymer microneedle (MN) arrays are an emerging class of transdermal drug delivery devices that promise a painless and sanitary alternative to syringes; however, prototyping bespoke needle architectures is expensive and requires production of new master templates. Here, we present a new microfabrication technique for MNs using fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing using polylactic acid, an FDA approved, renewable, biodegradable, thermoplastic material. We show how this natural degradability can be exploited to overcome a key challenge of FDM 3D printing, in particular the low resolution of these printers. We improved the feature size of the printed parts significantly by developing a post fabrication chemical etching protocol, which allowed us to access tip sizes as small as 1 μm. With 3D modeling software, various MN shapes were designed and printed rapidly with custom needle density, length, and shape. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that our method resulted in needle tip sizes in the range of 1 – 55 µm, which could successfully penetrate and break off into porcine skin. We have also shown that these MNs have comparable mechanical strengths to currently fabricated MNs and we further demonstrated how the swellability of PLA can be exploited to load small molecule drugs and how its degradability in skin can release those small molecules over time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Julius Krause ◽  
Laura Müller ◽  
Dorota Sarwinska ◽  
Anne Seidlitz ◽  
Malgorzata Sznitowska ◽  
...  

In the treatment of pediatric diseases, suitable dosages and dosage forms are often not available for an adequate therapy. The use of innovative additive manufacturing techniques offers the possibility of producing pediatric dosage forms. In this study, the production of mini tablets using fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based 3D printing was investigated. Two pediatric drugs, caffeine and propranolol hydrochloride, were successfully processed into filaments using hyprolose and hypromellose as polymers. Subsequently, mini tablets with diameters between 1.5 and 4.0 mm were printed and characterized using optical and thermal analysis methods. By varying the number of mini tablets applied and by varying the diameter, we were able to achieve different release behaviors. This work highlights the potential value of FDM 3D printing for the on-demand production of patient individualized, small-scale batches of pediatric dosage forms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 896 ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Ján Milde ◽  
František Jurina ◽  
Jozef Peterka ◽  
Patrik Dobrovszký ◽  
Jakub Hrbál ◽  
...  

The article focused on the influence of part orientation on the surface roughness of cuboid parts during the process of fabricating by FDM technology. The components, in this case, is simple cuboid part with the dimensions 15 mm x 15mm x 30 mm. A geometrical model is defined that considers the shape of the material filaments after deposition, to define a theoretical roughness profile, for a certain print orientation angle. Five different print orientations in the X-axis of the cuboid part were set: 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. According to previous research in the field of FDM technology by the author, the internal structure (infill) was set at the value of 70%. The method of 3D printing was the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and the material used in this research was thermoplastic ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). For each setting, there were five specimens (twenty five prints in total). Prints were fabricated on a Zortrax M200 3D printer. After the 3D printing, the surface “A” was investigated by portable surface roughness tester Mitutoyo SJ-210. Surface roughness in the article is shown in the form of graphs (Fig.7). Results show increase in part roughness with increasing degree of part orientation. When the direction of applied layers on the measured surface was horizontal, significant improvement in surface roughness was observed. Findings in this paper can be taken into consideration when designing parts, as they can contribute in achieving lower surface roughness values.


Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reverson Fernandes Quero ◽  
Gessica Domingos Silveira ◽  
Jose Alberto Fracassi da Silva ◽  
Dosil Pereira de Jesus

The fabrication of microfluidic devices through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing has faced several challenges, mainly regarding obtaining microchannels with suitable transparency and sizes. Thus, the use of this...


2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (07-08) ◽  
pp. 520-523
Author(s):  
J. Prof. Bliedtner ◽  
M. Schilling

Das FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling)-Verfahren ist aufgrund der Vielzahl von industriellen und privaten Anwendungen gegenwärtig das erfolgreichste 3D-Druck-Verfahren. Ziel des Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojektes „HP3D“ ist die effiziente Herstellung von großformatigen Bauteilen in einem echten 3D-Verfahren aus frei wählbaren thermoplastischen Kunststoffen. An die Umsetzung des Projekts wurde sehr komplex herangegangen, um zu garantieren, dass die mechanischen und dynamischen Eigenschaften der aufgebauten Teile den konzipierten Eigenschaften entsprechen.   The FDM process is currently the most successful 3D printing process due to the multitude of industrial and private applications. The aim of the research and development project HP3D is the efficient production of large-format components in a real 3D process made of freely selectable thermoplastics. The implementation of the project has been very complex in order to ensure that the mechanical and dynamic properties of the assembled parts correspond to the designed properties.


Author(s):  
Alfonso Costas ◽  
Daniel E. Davis ◽  
Yixian Niu ◽  
Sadegh Dabiri ◽  
Jose Garcia ◽  
...  

Additive manufacturing has emerged as an alternative to traditional manufacturing technologies. In particular, industries like fluid power, aviation and robotics have the potential to benefit greatly from this technology, due to the design flexibility, weight reduction and compact size that can be achieved. In this work, the design process and advantages of using 3D printing to make soft linear actuators were studied and highlighted. This work explored the limitations of current additive manufacturing tolerances to fabricate a typical piston-cylinder assembly, and how enclosed bellow actuators could be used to overcome high leakage and friction issues experienced with a piston-cylinder type actuator. To do that, different 3D printing technologies were studied and evaluated (stereolithorgraphy and fused deposition modeling) in the pursuit of high-fidelity, cost-effective 3D printing. The initial attempt consisted of printing the soft actuators directly using flexible materials in a stereolithography-type 3D printer. However, these actuators showed low durability and poor performance. The lack of a reliable resin resulted in the replacement of this material by EcoFlex® 00-30 silicone and the use of a 3D printed mold to cast the actuators. These molds included a 3-D printed dissolvable core inside the cast actuator in order to finish the manufacturing process in one single step. An experimental setup to evaluate the capabilities of these actuators was developed. Results are shown to assess the steady-state and the dynamic characteristics of these actuators. These tests resulted into the stroke-pressure and stroke-time responses for a specific load given different proportional valve inputs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 242 ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Gaal ◽  
Melissa Mendes ◽  
Tiago P. de Almeida ◽  
Maria H.O. Piazzetta ◽  
Ângelo L. Gobbi ◽  
...  

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