Selective Laser Sintering 3D Printing of Orally Disintegrating Printlets Containing Ondansetron

• Main Authors: Nour Allahham, Fabrizio Fina, Carmen Marcuta, Lilia Kraschew, Wolfgang Mohr, Simon Gaisford, Abdul W. Basit, Alvaro Goyanes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: Pharmaceutics
• Subjects: three-dimensional printing; 3d printed drug products; printing pharmaceuticals; additive manufacturing; rapid prototyping; orally disintegrating tablets (odts); orally disintegrating printlets (odps); taste masking; personalized medicines
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/2/110

The aim of this work was to explore the feasibility of using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing (3DP) to fabricate orodispersable printlets (ODPs) containing ondansetron. Ondansetron was first incorporated into drug-cyclodextrin complexes and then combined with the filler mannitol. Two 3D printed formulations with different levels of mannitol were prepared and tested, and a commercial ondansetron orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) product (Vonau^® Flash) was also investigated for comparison. Both 3D printed formulations disintegrated at ~15 s and released more than 90% of the drug within 5 min independent of the mannitol content; these results were comparable to those obtained with the commercial product. This work demonstrates the potential of SLS 3DP to fabricate orodispersible printlets with characteristics similar to a commercial ODT, but with the added benefit of using a manufacturing technology able to prepare medicines individualized to the patient.