Stencil Printing—A Novel Manufacturing Platform for Orodispersible Discs

Abstract

Stencil printing is a commonly used printing method, but it has not previously been used for production of pharmaceuticals. The aim of this study was to explore whether stencil printing of drug containing polymer inks could be used to manufacture flexible dosage forms with acceptable mass and content uniformity. Formulation development was supported by physicochemical characterization of the inks and final dosage forms. The printing of haloperidol (HAL) discs was performed using a prototype stencil printer. Ink development comprised of investigations of ink rheology in combination with printability assessment. The results show that stencil printing can be used to manufacture HAL doses in the therapeutic treatment range for 6–17 year-old children. The therapeutic HAL dose was achieved for the discs consisting of 16% of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and 1% of lactic acid (LA). The formulation pH remained above pH 4 and the results imply that the drug was amorphous. Linear dose escalation was achieved by an increase in aperture area of the print pattern, while keeping the stencil thickness fixed. Disintegration times of the orodispersible discs printed with 250 and 500 µm thick stencils were below 30 s. In conclusion, stencil printing shows potential as a manufacturing method of pharmaceuticals.

Printable Graphene-Sustainable Elastomer-Based Cross Talk Free Sensor for Point of Care Diagnostics

“…Therefore, it can be conferred that ENRG 0.83 and ENRG 0.86 are the most suitable formulations for fabricating stencil printed sensors. Further scrutinizing the requirement for stencil printing indicated that a higher value of complex viscosity at a lower frequency indicates better stencil printability . Considering the observations made from the rheological studies (both from frequency and amplitude sweep) and the printability index parameter, it can be unequivocally suggested that ENRG 0.86 demonstrated a strong dominancy of the elastic component and can be considered as a potential candidate for stencil printing.…”

“…Further scrutinizing the requirement for stencil printing indicated that a higher value of complex viscosity at a lower frequency indicates better stencil printability. 44 Considering the observations made from the rheological studies (both from frequency and amplitude sweep) and the printability index parameter, it can be unequivocally suggested that ENRG 0.86 demonstrated a strong dominancy of the elastic component and can be considered as a potential candidate for stencil printing. The plot of G′/G″ for other samples (ENRG 0.24, ENRG 0.49, ENRG 0.72, and ENRG 0.76) is shown in Figure S4b.…”

3D Printing of Pharmaceuticals and Drug Delivery Devices

“…The results show that the drug was amorphous after printing and the pH remained above pH 4. Disintegration studies showed that the orodispersible discs printed showed disintegrations times below 30 s. Therefore, it was concluded that the novel method of batchwise stencil printing, could be used as a viable method for the production of pharmaceuticals [17].…”

Stencil printing of adhesive-based fuel cell sealings: The influence of rheology on bubble formation during the separation step

“…10,29 Added to the very short cycle times (\ 3 s), it becomes evident that the adhesive rheological properties must be optimized and precisely adjusted to meet all these requirements. Typically measured rheological properties for the printing process are the shear-dependent viscosity, 21,23,[29][30][31] yield stress, 21,24,31 viscoelasticity, [21][22][23]29,30 thixotropic behaviour 13,[29][30][31][32] and extensional behaviour. 22,24,30,31 These properties should be adjusted to facilitate the adhesive aperture filling and separation from the stencil, avoiding unwanted effects, such as filament stretching, 22,24,25 spreading, 24,33 superficial irregularities 10 and bubbles.…”