The Digital Pharmacies Era: How 3D Printing Technology Using Fused Deposition Modeling Can Become a Reality

The pharmaceutical industry is set to join the fourth industrial revolution with the 3D printing of medicines. The application of 3D printers in compounding pharmacies will turn them into digital pharmacies, wrapping up the telemedicine care cycle and definitively modifying the pharmacotherapeutic treatment of patients. Fused deposition modeling 3D printing technology melts extruded drug-loaded filaments into any dosage form; and allows the obtainment of flexible dosages with different shapes, multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients and modulated drug release kinetics—in other words, offering customized medicine. This work aimed to present an update on this technology, discussing its challenges. The co-participation of the pharmaceutical industry and compounding pharmacies seems to be the best way to turn this technology into reality. The pharmaceutical industry can produce drug-loaded filaments on a large scale with the necessary quality and safety guarantees; while digital pharmacies can transform the filaments into personalized medicine according to specific prescriptions. For this to occur, adaptations in commercial 3D printers will need to meet health requirements for drug products preparation, and it will be necessary to make advances in regulatory gaps and discussions on patent protection. Thus, despite the conservatism of the sector, 3D drug printing has the potential to become the biggest technological leap ever seen in the pharmaceutical segment, and according to the most optimistic prognostics, it will soon be within reach

Dissolution Enhancement in Cocoa Extract, Combining Hydrophilic Polymers through Hot-Melt Extrusion

The aim of this study was to improve the physicochemical properties of cocoa extract (CE) using hot-melt extrusion (HME) for pharmaceutical proposes. A mixture design was applied using three distinct hydrophilic polymeric matrices (Soluplus, Plasdone S630, and Eudragit E). Systems obtained by HME were evaluated using morphologic, chromatographic, thermic, spectroscopic, and diffractometric assays. The flow, wettability, and dissolution rate of HME powders were also assessed. Both CE and its marker theobromine proved to be stable under heating according to thermal analysis and Arrhenius plot under isothermal conditions. Physicochemical analysis confirmed the stability of CE HME preparations and provided evidence of drug–polymer interactions. Improvements in the functional characteristics of CE were observed after the extrusion process, particularly in dissolution and flow properties. In addition, the use of a mixture design allowed the identification of synergic effects by excipient combination. The optimized combination of polymers obtained considering four different aspects showed that a mixture of the Soluplus, Plasdone S630, and Eudragit E in equal proportions produced the best results (flowability index 88%; contact angle 47°; dispersibility 7.5%; and dissolution efficiency 87%), therefore making the pharmaceutical use of CE more feasible

Hot-Melt Extrusion as an Advantageous Technology to Obtain Effervescent Drug Products

Here, we assessed the feasibility of hot-melt extrusion (HME) to obtain effervescent drug products for the first time. For this, a combined mixture design was employed using paracetamol as a model drug. Extrudates were obtained under reduced torque (up to 0.3 Nm) at 100 °C to preserve the stability of the effervescent salts. Formulations showed vigorous and rapid effervescent disintegration (<3 min), adequate flow characteristics, and complete solubilization of paracetamol instantly after the effervescent reaction. Formulations containing PVPVA in the concentration range of 15–20% m/m were demonstrated to be sensitive to accelerated aging conditions, undergoing marked microstructural changes, since the capture of water led to the agglomeration and loss of their functional characteristics. HPMC matrices, in contrast, proved to be resistant to storage conditions in high relative humidity, showing superior performance to controls, including the commercial product. Moreover, the combined mixture design allowed us to identify significant interactions between the polymeric materials and the disintegrating agents, showing the formulation regions in which the responses are kept within the required levels. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that HME can bring important benefits to the elaboration of effervescent drug products, simplifying the production process and obtaining formulations with improved characteristics, such as faster disintegration, higher drug solubilization, and better stability

Elucidating the Splitting Behavior of Tablets to Optimize the Pharmacotherapy in Veterinary Medicine

It is well known that the splitting of tablets can bring serious risks to the health of the treated animals, e.g., the possible adverse reactions caused by overdoses of fenbendazole or aspirin. In this regard, this work aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the splitting behavior of commercial veterinary tablets and identifying the technological aspects that interfere in this process. Tablets were cut in halves using a tablet splitter and were analyzed regarding mass variation, mass loss, friability, and hardness. Microstructural and morphological evaluations were also performed. For most of the tablets, organic flavor additives provided more uniformity and cohesive matrix, which preserved its hardness after the cut and led to subdivision results within acceptable limits for mass measurements and friability. Apart from the microstructure, the most critical technological aspect for a correct splitting performance in such tablets was the presence of a score. Thus, the results presented here allow us to guide the manufacturing of veterinary drug products in order to produce tablets more adapted to the splitting process.Fil: Bedogni, Giselle Rocio. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Departamento de Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Química Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Química Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Pires, Felipe Q.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Chaker, Juliano A.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Sa Barreto, Livia L.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Seremeta, Katia Pamela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Chaco Austral. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Okulik, Nora Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Chaco Austral. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Salomon, Claudio Javier. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Departamento de Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Química Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Química Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Cunha Filho, Marcilio. Universidade do Brasília; Brasi