Abstract
Three-dimensional printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a fabrication process whereby a 3D object is created layer-by-layer by depositing a feedstock material such as thermoplastic polymer. The 3D printing technology has been widely used for rapid prototyping and its interest as a fabrication method has grown significantly across many disciplines. The most common 3D printing technology is called the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) which utilises thermoplastic filaments as a starting material, then extrudes the material in sequential layers above its melting temperature to create a 3D object. These filaments can be fabricated using the Hot-Melt Extrusion (HME) technology. The advantage of using HME to manufacture polymer filaments for FDM printing is that a homogenous solid dispersion of two or more pharmaceutical excipients i.e., polymers can be made and a thermostable drug can even be introduced in the filament composition, which is otherwise impractical with any other techniques. By introducing HME techniques for 3D printing filament development can improve the bioavailability and solubility of drugs as well as sustain the drug release for a prolonged period of time. The latter is of particular interest when medical implants are considered via 3D printing. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in implementing a continuous manufacturing method on pharmaceutical products development and manufacture, in order to ensure high quality and efficacy with less batch-to-batch variations of the pharmaceutical products. The HME and FDM technology can be combined into one integrated continuous processing platform. This article reviews the working principle of Hot Melt Extrusion and Fused Deposition Modelling, and how these two technologies can be combined for the use of advanced pharmaceutical applications.
Highlights
The 3D printing technology was first introduced by Charles Hull in the early 1980s [1]
There has been some research on combining these two technologies into a single continuous process in order to achieve a more effective and efficient manufacturing process. When these two technologies are coupled into one single process, it opens up the possibility of creating any dosage forms in-house for immediate consumption
This study shows that Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printing can be a promising technique for the fabrication of complex personalised medicine consisting of different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that exhibit different release patterns [82]
Summary
The 3D printing technology was first introduced by Charles Hull in the early 1980s [1]. The 3D printing technology has gained much popularity in the healthcare and medical field not just for its cost-effectiveness and for the manufacturing flexibility It is very useful in creating devices or medicine that are tailor-made for specific patients. The Hot-Melt Extrusion (HME) technology was established in the early 1930s and was originally used for the manufacturing of plastics and rubber products [16] This technology can be used to produce the filaments that are required to be used in Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printers. In the HME process, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are blended with a thermoplastic polymer and extruded as filaments that are used in 3D printing. 3D printing is able to fabricate these personalised medicines in a very timely and cost-effective manner
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