Objective:
To investigate innovative manufacturing technologies for developing custom drug delivery systems, focusing on 3D printing.
Approach:
- Research Focus: The research team explored the feasibility of using fused deposition modeling (FDM) for creating capsular devices that release drugs based on the characteristics of their shells.
- Material Development: Developed a pharmaceutical-grade filament using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) for FDM to create a custom delivery system called Chronocap.
- Manufacturing Process: Used hot-melt extrusion to manufacture HPC filaments and modified a commercial 3D printer to produce capsule bodies and caps.
- Testing: Conducted in vitro tests to evaluate the release performance of the 3D printed devices, which showed a lag phase of about 70 minutes.
Key Findings:
- 3D printed devices behaved as pulsatile-delivery containers.
- Release performance was comparable to that of molded systems with the same composition.
Interpretation:
Limitations:
- The project is in early stages and further research is needed to validate findings.
Conclusion:
Sources:
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