Thesis
Development of pharmaceutical 3D printing filament for fused deposition modelling: material considerations and process limitations
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2024
- Thesis identifier
- T17140
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201867018
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- With the current improvements in the health sector and technology, such as collecting patient data from wearables and using human body simulations and advanced models, and due to the diversity in the human body's interaction with medicine, a strong need to improve pharmacotherapy has emerged. 3D printing showed high potential to be a solution to produce customised, complex structure or polydrug medicines offering flexibility to change the number of drugs, their dose and/or their release. This study focusses on the fused deposition modelling 3D printing technology to systematically study formula development by identifying quality attributes and exploring formulation space, thereby defining the technology’s potential and limitations and accelerating the formulation process. Three main combinations were explored mefenamic acid with Eudragit EPO, AZD0837 (AstraZeneca’s model drug) with hypromellose succinate acetate and AZD0837 with polyethylene oxide. The filaments physical state, molecular interactions and their performance were studied using various techniques like differential scanning calorimetry, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, mechanical and rheological tests, thermal degradation and dissolution tests. Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSPs) and Design of Experiment (DoE) were utilised for prediction during filament development. The study analyses 3D printing limitations and associates them with critical filament attributes. The minimum limit of elastic modulus on viscosity ratio at printing temperature was 0.8 × 10-3 MPa/%Pas for effective material extrusion from the 3D printer nozzle. The minimum limit of strain at break was 35% to allow the material to coil and bend in the feeder tube during printing. The minimum limit of maximum stress was 22.9 MPa to tolerate the pressure applied by the feeder gears and transfer the gear rotation into linear downforce. The study also investigates prediction tools to speed up formula development, reducing material and time requirements to produce new 3DP filament. HSPs were used to plasticise the polymer without reducing drug solubility in the polymer. Two printable filaments were developed using both single polymer (mefenamic acid with Eudragit EPO-based formula) and polymer mixture (AZD0837 with both hypromellose succinate acetate and polyethylene oxide) approaches. A balance between ratios was required to achieve the correct mechanical and rheological properties for a specific 3D printer. The first formula consisted of 5.1% stearic acid, 13.2% mefenamic acid (wt% of Eudragit EPO), and 14.5% fumed silica (of the total weight). The second formula consisted of 30% (wt% of total weight) AZD0837 drug, 25% polyethylene oxide (wt% of polymer mix), and 75% hypromellose (wt% of polymer mix). This study offers insights into the materials requirements for effective printing and investigates innovative solutions to the formulation process's challenges with the ultimate goal of developing pharmaceutical printable filaments. The results will permit improved formulations to increase the printable drug portfolio and accelerate reaching drug customisation to increase pharmacotherapeutic efficacy.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Halbert, Gavin
- Resource Type
- DOI
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PDF of thesis T17140 | 2024-12-20 | Public | Download |