Researchers at theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela,MERLN Institute伦敦大学学院(UCL) and UCL spin-outfabrx, have come up with a way of 3D printing tablets inside of seven seconds.
As opposed to the normal vat photopolymerization process, which can be used to print pills layer-by-layer, the team’s volumetric printing approach is capable of curing full vats of resin in a single run. In doing so, the scientists say their technology has the potential to ramp up the rate at which custom medication is produced, a USP that could prove vital to making end-use clinical 3D printing more viable.
“This could really be a game-changer for the pharmaceutical industry,” Alvaro Goyanes, one of the UCL scientists behind the projecttold the i newspaper。“个性化的3D印刷药物正在快速发展。他们开始到达诊所进行试验，在最好的情况下，它们可以在三到五年内用于卫生服务。”
fabrx’s custom medication drive
自2016年以来Aprecia通过推出快速溶解的Spiritam，成为加法医学的早期领导者，first FDA-approved 3D printed drug, it’d be fair to say that the technology has come on leaps and bounds.
By 2020, for instance, researchers in Pakistan had proved it possible to 3D print具有优化药物释放率的抗生素, via fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology and precise infill control. Earlier that year, a team based atSt. John’s Universityalso took a similar approach to3D printing egg-shaped capsules, designed to be difficult to crush by those trying to abuse prescribed opioids.
More recently, FabRx itself has made advances in the field of tailored medicine as well, developing a means of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)braille-patterned printletsfor the visually impaired, as well as launching itsM3DIMAKER系统。
该机器被销售为“个性化药物的第一台制药3D打印机”，该机器具有多鼻嘴的设置，可让用户切换头并从FDM转换为直接粉末挤出生产。该初创企业还夸耀该系统受到软件的支持，该软件允许其按需创建规定的药丸，但是这种进度并没有停止其技术的迭代。
In fact, working with colleagues at Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and UCL late last year, FabRx managed to develop its ownsmartphone-powered tablet 3D printer。该团队的修订设置围绕修改后的M3Dimaker建造，被证明能够生产自定义的血液胶囊，并认为当时可以用来改善对处方药的机会。
增值税聚合的速度限制
因此，鉴于FabRX在具有自定义释放曲线，形状和尺寸的3D打印药物中相对成功的记录，为什么它不设法在药品领域获得更大的吸引力？好吧，除了获得监管机构批准和通过相关测试程序等问题外，以这种方式采用3D打印的商业缺点：吞吐量。
根据UCL领导的团队的说法，“现有的3D打印技术无法为快速节奏的临床环境中按需生产药物所需的速度。”然而，科学家补充说，在聚合以治愈树脂质量的情况下发生的体积打印“利用阈值行为”，因此可以为此提供解决方案。
Now, building on the work carried out in their previous study, the researchers have found a way of putting this approach into practice, by manipulating light in such a controlled way, that it can solidify vats of resin simultaneously. This is said to have been achieved by tweaking the intensity of emitted rays and applying them at various angles, until the full mass of material can be polymerized in one go.
体积3D打印进程
During their study, the researchers deployed a modified 3D printer to assess the efficacy of their revised approach, and produce tablets from six different photoinitiator-loaded resins, with paracetamol being used as a model drug. Initial results from these tests showed that the team were able to produce tablets with tunable drug release profiles, at a rate of anything from 7 to 17 seconds per pill.
With further development, the scientists say that their approach could be used to create ‘polypills’ at pace, the likes of which incorporate tailored doses or multiple medications, but tend to come with longer lead times. One application the technology is currently reportedly being trialed in, involves 3D printing cancer therapy and anti-side-effect drugs inside the same pill at a French hospital.
“To reduce the risk of recurrence, many women with early-stage breast cancer are treated with hormone therapy for five years, often with additional treatments to manage side effects,” Maxime Annereau, theGustave Roussy领导该项目的医院药剂师向I报纸解释了。“将所有这些治疗方法都带到带有个性化剂量的单个3D印刷平板电脑中，应该使完成治疗更容易。”
Another potential application of the technology lies in the production of more appetizing medication for poorly kids, especially given that London’sGreat Ormond Street Children’s Hospital据说正在权衡其药房安装3D打印机，那里的专家团队认为，将来该技术可能会成为必不可少的套件。
“I am already looking to put a 3D printer in the pharmacy at GOSH to support trials of use of 3D medicines,” Steve Tomlin, Chief Pharmacist at the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital also told the i newspaper. “Knowledge of genetic differences in people’s responses to medicines (pharmacogenomics) means that we know that for many drugs one size does not fit all.”
The researchers’ findings are detailed in their paper titled “体积3D打印用于快速生产药物。” The study was co-authored by Lucía Rodríguez-Pombo, Xiaoyan Xu, Alejandro Seijo-Rabina, Jun Jie Ong, Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo, Carlos Rial, Daniel Nieto, Simon Gaisford, Abdul W. Basit and Alvaro Goyanes.
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Featured image shows a diagram depicting the methodology behind the team’s approach. Image via UCL.
