Printing a Different Class of Pill

3D printing is a disruptive technology, although in most industries that disruption has so far been minimal because adoption of the technology is still in the nascent stages. One market not typically associated with printing may also be poised for some disruption, though: pharmaceuticals.

We've written before about novel production methods that could help customize dosages via printed pills and implants. Now a team at the UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, has come up with a hot-melt extrusion 3D printing method that can produce medication in different geometric shapes (pyramids, squares, donuts, etc.) that can improve drug release performance.

You can read more about the research in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

The researchers printed five different geometries: cube, pyramid, cylinder, sphere and torus. They used hot melt extrusion to spread medication through a water soluble polymer (in this case, polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA, from MakerBot) to create a drug-infused filament that contained acetaminophen. The tablets were designed in AutoCAD and printed using a Makerbot Replicator 2X Desktop 3D printer.

Why make such odd shapes? Because surface area-to-volume ratios can help determine the kinetics of drug release. A pyramid, for example, can deliver drugs more efficiently than any of the other geometries (with the surface area kept constant).

Using the technology, pharmacies or even consumers could theoretically produce pills with customized dosages, and do so in shapes that would ensure the correct release time.

Forbes outlined some of the potential advantages and drawbacks of this model in a recent column by Dr. Robert Glatter.

Source: Forbes