Mass-Customization of Oral Tablets via the Combination of 3D Printing and Injection Molding

Publication date: Available online 12 August 2019Source: International Journal of PharmaceuticsAuthor(s): Evert Fuenmayor, Crevan O'Donnell, Noel Gately, Patrick Doran, Declan M. Devine, John G. Lyons, Christopher McConville, Ian MajorAbstractThe new frontier of medicine is the personalization of treatment to match a patient’s individual needs. Fused-filament fabrication (FFF) offers a platform for the personalization of drug dosage forms, but one of its chief shortcomings compared to other tablet production methods such as dry compression and wet granulation is relatively low throughput. Conversely, injection molding (IM) is a manufacturing technique for the high-volume production of parts, but in which individual part customization is both expensive and slow requiring the modification of expensive mold tooling. Mass-customization is the manufacture of custom products that match the needs of individual consumers but which are produced at the low unit cost associated with high-volume production. We successfully integrated for the first time FFF with IM in a multi-step manufacturing process for the production of custom bilayer tablets loaded with two active pharmaceutical ingredients used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The FFF layer was loaded with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, while the IM layer was loaded with lovastatin. Infill percentage was varied for the FFF layer as a means to modify drug release. The IM injection pressure was evaluated for its effect...
Source: International Journal of Pharmaceutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research