3D printed tablets for personalised dose titration of prednisone using selective laser sintering

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Standardized medication dosing can lead to poor patient adherence and adverse effects.
• Prednisone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, often requires complex dosing regimens.
• 3D printing offers potential for personalized medicine and precise drug delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing for producing custom-dosed prednisone tablets.
• To assess the quality and drug release profile of 3D printed prednisone tablets.
• To demonstrate the clinical viability of 3D printing for personalized medication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing technology.
• Produced five different doses of prednisone tablets (5-25 mg) using 3D models of varying sizes.
• Assessed tablet quality against British Pharmacopoeial standards and evaluated drug release profiles.

Main Results:

• Successfully printed custom prednisone tablets with high accuracy across five distinct dosage groups.
• SLS printed tablets met conventional manufacturing and British Pharmacopoeial quality criteria.
• Tablets exhibited an immediate release profile, with complete drug release within 25 minutes, similar to commercial prednisone tablets.

Conclusions:

• Selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing is capable of producing custom therapeutic doses of prednisone.
• This technology demonstrates viability for clinical translation in personalized medication delivery.
• 3D printed personalized medications offer a promising shift from standardized dosing.