Inkjet Printing of Drug-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles—A Platform for Drug Development

Abstract

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have shown great potential in improving drug delivery of poorly water soluble (BCS class II, IV) and poorly permeable (BCS class III, IV) drugs, as well as facilitating successful delivery of unstable compounds. The nanoparticle technology would allow improved treatment by reducing adverse reactions of currently approved drugs and possibly reintroducing previously discarded compounds from the drug development pipeline. This study aims to highlight important aspects in mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) ink formulation development for digital inkjet printing technology and to advice on choosing a method (2D/3D) for nanoparticle print deposit characterization. The results show that both unfunctionalized and polyethyeleneimine (PEI) surface functionalized MSNs, as well as drug-free and drug-loaded MSN–PEI suspensions, can be successfully inkjet-printed. Furthermore, the model BCS class IV drug remained incorporated in the MSNs and the suspension remained physically stable during the processing time and steps. This proof-of-concept study suggests that inkjet printing technology would be a flexible deposition method of pharmaceutical MSN suspensions to generate patterns according to predefined designs. The concept could be utilized as a versatile drug screening platform in the future due to the possibility of accurately depositing controlled volumes of MSN suspensions on various materials.

From Hollow to Solid Carbon Spheres: Time-Dependent Facile Synthesis

“…Representative TEM images of silica spheres and carbon spheres are presented in Figure 3 . Silica spheres used as a template for the carbon spheres had diameter of ~400 nm ( Figure 3 a,b), which was confirmed by SEM analysis [ 34 ]. The carbon spheres after removal of the silica template had porous shells with thicknesses changing with time.…”

“…The proposed carbon sphere can exhibit ordered [ 13 , 32 ] and disordered [ 33 ] pores. It is well known that the nanoparticle shape has a crucial role in its applications, such as drug delivery [ 34 ], filler for polymeric matrices [ 35 , 36 ], and deacidification [ 37 , 38 ]. In our contribution, solid silica nanoparticles serve as a hard template in CVD-grown carbon spheres.…”

Shaping the future: recent advances of 3D printing in drug delivery and healthcare

“…Scaffold for tissue regeneration FDM PLA, ABS [18] Osteochondral scaffolds SLA PEGDA, PLGA [19,20] In vivo bone regeneration DLP Vinyl ester, Vinyl carbonate [21] Biodegradable scaffolds Inkjet PLGA, Collagen [22,23] Scaffolds for tissue regeneration SLS PCL, Gelatine [24,25] Implants FDM TPU [26] Drug delivery systems FDM PCL [27] Drug-loaded systems Inkjet HPMC [28] 3D printed pellets for dual-drug therapy SLS Ethyl cellulose, Kollicoat IR [29] 6-layer polypill for multi-drug therapy SLA PEGDA [30] Surgical guides and aids FDM ABS [31] Pre-surgical planning Polyjet Photosensitive resin [32] Dental models DLP Photosensitive resin [33] Pre-surgical planning BJ TPU [34] Diagnosis and treatment planning Polyjet Acrylic resin [35] 2.1 Dentistry…”

Stencil Printing—A Novel Manufacturing Platform for Orodispersible Discs

“…High viscous solutions have been deposited onto ODFs by flexography (impact method) [12]. Low viscous drug solutions and suspensions have been deposited onto placebo ODFs by thermal, piezoelectric, and solenoid valve-based inkjet technology (non-impact methods) [13][14][15][16][17]. Especially inkjet printing has shown to allow accurate deposition of one or more APIs according to a digital design.…”