Fabricating Oral Disintegrating Tablets Without Disintegrant Using Powder-Based 3D Printing

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Powder-based 3D printing is an advanced additive manufacturing technique.
• This method allows for the production of oral disintegrating tablets (ODTs) without the need for disintegrants.
• It creates larger-pored tablets through layer-by-layer powder stacking, enhancing water absorption compared to traditional tablets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate clozapine-based ODTs using powder-based 3D printing.
• To optimize the formulation of these ODTs for rapid disintegration using central composite design (CCD).
• To investigate the compatibility of clozapine with excipients in the 3D-printed formulation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of clozapine-based ODTs via powder-based 3D printing.
• Formulation optimization using central composite design (CCD).
• Characterization using X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements.

Main Results:

• Optimized 3D-printed ODTs exhibited rapid disintegration (9.9 ± 0.7 s) compared to compressed tablets (40 s).
• The 3D-printed ODTs showed favorable wettability with a contact angle of 60.48 ± 0.36°.
• SEM analysis revealed a highly porous structure (48.97% porosity) in 3D-printed tablets, significantly higher than compressed tablets.

Conclusions:

• Powder-based 3D printing is a feasible method for fabricating oral disintegrating tablets (ODTs) without disintegrants.
• The resulting ODTs are highly hydrophilic and non-distensible.
• This technology offers an alternative approach to conventional tablet manufacturing for improved drug delivery.