Towards a Customized Oral Drug Therapy for Pediatric Applications: Chewable Propranolol Gel Tablets Printed by an...

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Technology
• 3D Printing
• Personalized Medicine

Background:

• Automated semi-solid extrusion (SSE) is an emerging technology for personalized medicine preparation.
• It utilizes semi-solid polymeric printing inks for custom oral elastic gel tablets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of automated SSE for preparing chewable gel tablets.
• To characterize propranolol hydrochloride-loaded gel tablets at various drug concentrations.

Main Methods:

• Automated SSE material deposition was employed to create gel tablets.
• Tablets were loaded with propranolol hydrochloride at 3.0 mg, 4.0 mg, and 5.0 mg.
• Evaluated physical properties, mechanical strength, and in-vitro drug release.

Main Results:

• API inclusion reduced ink viscosity, improving printing performance.
• Printed tablets were elastic, chewable, and exhibited uniform mechanical properties.
• In-vitro tests confirmed immediate-release behavior (>85% drug release in 15-20 min).

Conclusions:

• Automated SSE is a viable 3D printing technique for customized propranolol hydrochloride oral gel tablets.
• This method supports the development of personalized pharmaceutical formulations.