3D printing of drug tablets in as little as 7 seconds

A new 3D printing technique can print drugs in seven seconds, enabling rapid on-site production of drugs, a UCL-led research team reports. The findings, published in the journal Additive Manufacturing, will help 3D printers adapt to the fast-paced clinical environment to produce personalised drugs on demand.

In the current study, the researchers added paracetamol, one of many drugs that can be produced with 3D printers, to the print form.

One of the leading technologies in 3D printing is vat photopolymerisation, which offers the highest resolution of complexity at the microscale and is also suitable for many drugs as high heat is not required.

A new 3D printing technology can print drugs in seven seconds

The 3D printing technique uses a resin formulation in which the desired drug is dissolved in a solution of photoactive chemicals, which are activated by light to cure the resin into printed tablets. However, due to the layer-by-layer polymerisation method, reductive polymerisation is hampered by slow printing speeds.

Scientists have therefore developed a new reduction polymerisation technique that can print entire objects at once, reducing the print speed from several minutes to between 7 and 17 seconds (depending on the chosen resin composition).

This is achieved by shining multiple images of the object viewed from different angles onto the resin, with the amount of light gradually accumulating until the point at which polymerisation occurs is reached. By adjusting the intensity of the light at different angles and overlaps, all points of the 3D object in the resin can reach that threshold at the same time, allowing the entire 3D object to cure simultaneously.

The research, currently led by Professor Abdul Basit of the UCL School of Pharmacy, also involves researchers at the University of San Diego and FabRx, a UCL spin-off created by three members of the UCL research team.

It is understood that the Basit lab has previously developed 3D printed polymeric tablets to help people who need to take multiple medications each day, as well as tablets in Braille mode to help people with impaired vision.

Dr. Alvaro Gojans, co-lead author of the University of California School of Pharmacy, Fabrex and the University of San Diego Compostela, said, "Personalised 3D printed drugs are rapidly evolving and entering the clinic. To accommodate the fast-paced clinical environment. We have developed a 3D printer that can produce tablet PCs in seconds. This technology could be a game changer for the pharmaceutical industry."