Polymer Selection for Hot-Melt Extrusion Coupled to Fused Deposition Modelling in Pharmaceutics

Overview

Journal Pharmaceutics

Publisher MDPI

Date 2020 Aug 27

PMID 32842703

Citations 29

Authors

Gabriela G Pereira

Sara Figueiredo

Ana Isabel Fernandes

Joao F Pinto

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers the greatest potential to revolutionize the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing by overcoming challenges of conventional pharmaceutical operations and focusing design and production of dosage forms on the patient's needs. Of the many technologies available, fusion deposition modelling (FDM) is considered of the lowest cost and higher reproducibility and accessibility, offering clear advantages in drug delivery. FDM requires in-house production of filaments of drug-containing thermoplastic polymers by hot-melt extrusion (HME), and the prospect of connecting the two technologies has been under investigation. The ability to integrate HME and FDM and predict and tailor the filaments' properties will extend the range of printable polymers/formulations. Hence, this work revises the properties of the most common pharmaceutical-grade polymers used and their effect on extrudability, printability, and printing outcome, providing suitable processing windows for different raw materials. As a result, formulation selection will be more straightforward (considering the characteristics of drug and desired dosage form or release profile) and the processes setup will be more expedite (avoiding or mitigating typical processing issues), thus guaranteeing the success of both HME and FDM. Relevant techniques used to characterize filaments and 3D-printed dosage forms as an essential component for the evaluation of the quality output are also presented.

Citing Articles

Enhancing Patient-Centric Drug Development: Coupling Hot Melt Extrusion with Fused Deposition Modeling and Pressure-Assisted Microsyringe Additive Manufacturing Platforms with Quality by Design.

Nyavanandi D, Mandati P, Vidiyala N, Parupathi P, Kolimi P, Mamidi H Pharmaceutics. 2025; 17(1).

PMID: 39861666 PMC: 11769097. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17010014.

Exploring 3D Printing in Drug Development: Assessing the Potential of Advanced Melt Drop Deposition Technology for Solubility Enhancement by Creation of Amorphous Solid Dispersions.

Lamrabet N, Hess F, Leidig P, Marx A, Kipping T Pharmaceutics. 2025; 16(12.

PMID: 39771481 PMC: 11679577. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16121501.

Fabrication of Polypill Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms Using Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing: A Systematic Review.

Yasin H, Al-Tabakha M, Chan S Pharmaceutics. 2024; 16(10).

PMID: 39458614 PMC: 11510916. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16101285.

Understanding the Interaction of Thermal, Rheological, and Mechanical Parameters Critical for the Processability of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Based Systems during Hot Melt Extrusion.

Hess F, Kipping T, Weitschies W, Krause J Pharmaceutics. 2024; 16(4).

PMID: 38675133 PMC: 11055164. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040472.

Pediatric Formulations Developed by Extrusion-Based 3D Printing: From Past Discoveries to Future Prospects.

Ianno V, Vurpillot S, Prillieux S, Espeau P Pharmaceutics. 2024; 16(4).

PMID: 38675103 PMC: 11054634. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040441.

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