3D printed extended-release hydrochlorothiazide tablets

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Technology
• 3D Printing
• Drug Delivery

Background:

• 3D printing offers novel manufacturing possibilities for personalized dosage forms.
• Extended-release formulations are crucial for improving therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance.
• Hydrochlorothiazide (HHT) is a widely used diuretic, making it a suitable model drug for release studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop 3D printed tablets (printlets) utilizing semi-solid extrusion (SSE) and digital light processing (DLP) techniques.
• To investigate the extended-release characteristics of hydrochlorothiazide (HHT) from these 3D printed formulations.
• To characterize the printlets and analyze the photopolymerization process and drug release kinetics.

Main Methods:

• Four formulations were manufactured using SSE and DLP 3D printing with varying photoinitiator concentrations.
• Rheological studies, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy were employed for characterization.
• In vitro drug release studies were conducted in hydrochloric acid and phosphate buffer, followed by kinetic modeling.

Main Results:

• Rheological studies identified optimal formulations for SSE and DLP printing (F1_SSE and F1_DLP).
• Printlets met European Pharmacopoeia standards for uniformity of dosage units.
• All formulations exhibited extended-release profiles for HHT, with release kinetics analyzed using multiple models.

Conclusions:

• Both SSE and DLP 3D printing techniques are viable for producing extended-release hydrochlorothiazide printlets.
• The study successfully characterized the printlets and confirmed the presence of HHT and excipients.
• The developed 3D printed tablets demonstrate potential for controlled drug delivery applications.