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Three-dimensional (3D) printers have been applied in many fields, including engineering and the medical sciences. In the pharmaceutical field, approval of the first 3D-printed tablet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015 has attracted interest in the manufacture of tablets and drugs by 3D printing techniques as a means of delivering tailor-made drugs in the future. In current study, polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-based tablets were prepared using a fused-deposition-modeling-type 3D printer and the effect of 3D printing conditions on tablet production was investigated. Curcumin, a model drug/fluorescent marker, was loaded into PVA-filament. We found that several printing parameters, such as the rate of extruding PVA (flow rate), can affect the formability of the resulting PVA-tablets. The 3D-printing temperature is controlled by heating the print nozzle and was shown to affect the color of the tablets and their curcumin content. PVA-based infilled tablets with different densities were prepared by changing the fill density as a printing parameter. Tablets with lower fill density floated in an aqueous solution and their curcumin content tended to dissolve faster. These findings will be useful in developing drug-loaded PVA-based 3D objects and other polymerbased articles prepared using fused-deposition-modeling-type 3D printers. Key words three-dimensional (3D) printing; fused deposition modeling; polyvinylalcohol (PVA); tablet; curcuminThe production of various objects by three-dimensional (3D) printers has developed extensively as the printers have evolved.1,2) 3D printers are used by the creator to rapidly design prototype parts and can thus considerably cut production times and costs. 3D printers have been used to manufacture parts for cars, home electronic devices, aircraft engines, buildings, and for other practical uses. It is speculated that 3D printers have potential for many applications and that the 3D printer market will expand.The medical applications of 3D printers have been expanding and bringing innovation to the field.3) For example, the 3D printing of organs and body parts is used to provide blueprints 4) for surgeons and patients to understand disease sites.5-7) In addition, bioprinting, which involves the placement of cells, proteins and genes on a substrate, is also being conducted in the anticipation of future applications in tissue engineering.8,9) Future artificial organs and implantable devices are also being designed. 10,11) In the pharmaceutical industry, a new tablet (SPRITAM ® , a rapid disintegrating tablet containing levetiracetam) prepared by 3D printing was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015.12) The application of 3D printing in medicine, including tablets, holds promise for made-to-order drugs and removes mass product manufacturing from the production line, although the technology in pharmaceutical industry is still in infancy.13) Moreover, it is predicted that the internet of things (IoT) will increase the future use of 3D printers by reinforcing man...

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Microfluidics is a promising system for efficiently optimizing the experimental conditions for preparing nanomedicines, such as self-assembled nanoparticles. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles are promising drug carriers allowing sustained drug release. Here, we encapsulated the model drug curcumin, which has many pharmacological activities, into PLGA nanoparticles and investigated the effects of experimental conditions on the resulting PLGA nanoparticles using a microfluidics system with a staggered herringbone structure that can stir solutions through chaotic advection. The total flow rate and flow rate ratio of the solutions in the microfluidics system affected the diameters, polydispersity index, and encapsulation efficiency of the resulting PLGA nanoparticles and produced small, homogenous PLGA nanoparticles. The incorporation of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-PLGA into the PLGA nanoparticles reduced the particle size and improved the encapsulation efficiency. Initial burst release from the PLGA nanoparticles was prevented by the incorporation of PEG2000-PLGA. Curcumin-loaded PEGylated PLGA nanoparticles showed cytotoxicity similar to that of other formulations. This microfluidics system allows high throughput and is scalable for the efficient preparation of PLGA nanoparticles and PEGylated PLGA nanoparticles. Our results will be useful for developing novel PLGA-based polymer nanoparticles by using the microfluidics.