Channelled tablets: an innovative approach to accelerating drug release from 3D printed tablets

<p>Conventional immediate release dosage forms involve compressing the powder with a disintegrating agent thatenables rapid disintegration and dissolution upon oral ingestion. Among 3D printing technologies, the fuseddeposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing technique has considerable potential for patient-speciTc dosage form.However, the use of FDM 3D printing in tablet manufacturing requires large portion of polymer, which slowsdown drug release through erosion and diffusion mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate for the Trst timethe use of a novel design approach of caplets with perforating channels to accelerate drug release from 3Dprinted tablets. This strategy has been implemented using a caplet design with perforating channels of increasingwidth (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 or 1.0 mm) and variable length, and alignment (parallel or at right angle to tabletlong axis). Hydrochlorothiazide (BCS class IV drug) was chosen as model drug as enhanced dissolution rate isvital to guarantee oral bioavailability. The inclusion of channels exhibited an increase in the surface are/volumeratio, however, the release pattern was also inUuenced by the width and the length of the channel. A channelwidth 0.6 mm deemed critical to meet the USP criteria of immediate release products. Shorter multiple channels(8.6 mm) were more efTcient at accelerating drug release than longer channels (18.2 mm) despite havingcomparable surface area/mass ratio. This behaviour may be linked to the reduced Uow resistance within thechannels and the faster fragmentation during dissolution of these tablets. In conclusion, the width and length ofthe channel should be carefully considered in addition to surface area/mass when optimizing drug release from3D printed designs. The incorporation of short channels can be adopted in the designs of dosage forms, implantsor stents to enhance the release rate of eluting drug from rich polymeric structures.</p>