Three-Dimensional Printing of Drug-Eluting Implants: Preparation of an Antimicrobial Polylactide Feedstock Material

Jorrit Jeroen Water, Adam Bohr, Johan Peter Bøtker, Johanna Aho, Niklas Sandler, Hanne Mørck Nielsen, Jukka Rantanen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

140 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The aim of the present work was to investigate the potential of three-dimensional (3D) printing as a manufacturing method for products intended for personalized treatments by exploring the production of novel polylactide-based feedstock materials for 3D printing purposes. Nitrofurantoin (NF) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were successfully mixed and extruded with up to 30% drug load with and without addition of 5% HA in polylactide strands, which were subsequently 3D-printed into model disc geometries (10 × 2 mm). X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed that NF maintained its anhydrate solid form during the processing. Release of NF from the disks was dependent on the drug loading in a concentration-dependent manner as a higher level of released drug was observed from disks with higher drug loads. Disks with 30% drug loading were able to prevent surface-associated and planktonic growth of Staphylococcus aureus over a period of 7 days. At 10% drug loading, the disks did not inhibit planktonic growth, but still inhibited surface-associated growth. Elemental analysis indicated the presence of microdomains of solid drug supporting the observed slow and partial drug release. This work demonstrates the potential of custom-made, drug-loaded feedstock materials for 3D printing of pharmaceutical products for controlled release.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pages (from-to)1099–1107
Number of pages9
ISSN0022-3549
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2015

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