Edible solid foams as porous substrates for inkjet-printable pharmaceuticals

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Drug Delivery

Background:

• Developing suitable carriers for inkjet printing pharmaceuticals is crucial for advanced drug delivery.
• Existing substrates often lack the necessary properties for high-volume ink absorption and controlled release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate novel porous flexible substrates for inkjet printable pharmaceutical formulations.
• To evaluate cellulose derivatives and gums as bases for these substrates.
• To optimize the fabrication of solid foams for pharmaceutical applications.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of freeze-drying, vacuum oven drying, and room temperature drying for solid foam preparation.
• Evaluation of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and other pharmaceutical excipients.
• Characterization of foam porosity, flexibility, mechanical stability, and ink absorption properties.
• Assessment of inkjet printing performance and drug release kinetics.

Main Results:

• Freeze-drying yielded porous, flexible, and mechanically stable sponge-like HPMC-based solid foams.
• Plasticized HPMC foams exhibited superior absorption capacity and solvent penetration due to open cell structures.
• Inkjet printing of high API volumes was successful, with immediate drug release upon contact with dissolution media.

Conclusions:

• Plasticized HPMC solid foams are highly suitable porous carriers for inkjet printing pharmaceutical formulations.
• These fabricated foams demonstrate significant potential for creating high-dose dosage forms via inkjet printing technology.