Non- Destructive 3D Printing Technique of Oral Dosage Forms

Current three dimensional (3D) printing techniques involve the solidification of the injected materials by means of UV irradiation, evaporation of organic solvents or harsh heating and cooling processes. These methods may limit the printing of many sensitive bio-active molecules such as peptides and protein. Here, we describe a novel 3D printing technique based on two complementary liquid copolymers that are injected in a coordinate fashion and react with each other form a pre-designed 3D pill. The successful synthesis of the pre-polymers, PEG₄-PCL–SC and PEG₄-PCL–NH₂ were verified by ¹H-NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR). Printed pills swelled about 400% over 3 hours followed by a moderate disintegration. Prednisone and bovine serum albumin (BSA), incorporated in the printed pill, showed a dependency of drug release on the ratio between the two complementary pre-polymers. This unique 3D printing apparatus can be empowered to form home-made pills apparatus for drug/s with susceptibility to current techniques and possibly to other biomedical applications.