Preparation and characterization of polypills containing aspirin and simvastatin using 3D printing technology for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become a promising manufacturing technique for pharmaceutical products. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most affordable printing technology. But this technique has two major drawbacks: limited drug-loading capacity and the stability of thermolabile drugs. So, other techniques such as melt casting could be associated with FDM to overcome these limitations. In the melt casting method, the drug is mixed with a molten polymer and is poured in the mold and allowed to solidify. The present study for the first time describes the preparation of a multi-compartment polypill permits the physical separation of incompatible drugs by combination of FDM and melt casting techniques. A two-compartment polypill was made using FDM by Eudragit(R)L100-55 and simultaneously its compartments were filled by aspirin and simvastatin containing molten PEG 6000. Simultaneous usage of FDM and melt casting techniques could increase the drug-loading capacity of 3D-printed polypills. The low temperatures used in melt casting and the absence of solvent in this method would warrant the integrity of polypills, the complete separation of incompatible drugs, and their stability. The prepared polypills showed good uniformity in drug content which confirms the precision of FDM and melt casting techniques. Drug interaction was investigated before and after the accelerated stability test using DSC, which showed that 3D-printed polypills successfully preserved drugs from the interaction. For the first time, this study demonstrates the feasibility of the combination of FDM and melt casting techniques as an innovative platform for CVD polypills production.