The convergence of additive manufacturing and suitable printing materials is of significant aptitude for the advancement of personalized pharmaceutical products (e.g. tablets) fabricated via additive manufacturing such as 3D printing. In the past decade, 3D printing- a method of additive manufacturing where materials (e.g. polymers) are deposited one onto another in layers to produce a three dimensional object, has attracted a great deal of interests. The aim of this project is to develop personalized pills for the treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease by means of emerging 3D printing technology developed by our group.
Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Pharmacy
March 2020 - Feb 2021
• Objective 1: To establish a robust continuous manufacturing platform based on twin-screw hot-melt extrusion (HME) technology with both kneading and conveying blocks in order to manufacture and optimise various 3D printing polymer filaments using pharmaceutical grade polymers.
• Objective 2: To develop and manufacture polymeric filaments with unique compositions and diameter (~1.75 mm) and tailored properties (e.g. tensile strength, elongation, biodegradability).
• Objective 3: To fabricate 3D printed dosage forms such as tablets utilizing the polymer filaments (from objective 1) and physicochemical/mechanical characterizations.
