A Comparative Study of Conventionally Manufactured and 3D Printed Tablets

This study aimed to develop tablets of carbamazepine (CBZ) using 3D printing and direct compression and compare their release patterns. KlucelTM ELF grade was used as the polymeric carrier. The hot melt extrusion (HME) was used to prepare the feedstock for the 3D printing and the direct compression process. The processing parameters and formulation were selected and the physical mixture consisted of CBZ:Kulcel (30%: 70% w/w) was extruded using a twin screw hot melt extruder (HME) (11mm Process 11, Thermo Fisher Scientific). The temperature used for extrusion was 110oC at a screw speed of 50 RPM. The obtained HME filaments obtained were divided into two parts. The first part was used as feedstock for 3D printing tablets (40, 50, and 60% infill). The second part was milled in a coffee grinder and then compressed in a tablet punch to prepare the direct compressed tablets. Drug content of filaments and tablets was performed using HPLC. Texture analysis, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR) and Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) were used to study the mechanical and physicochemical properties of CBZ, Klucel, filaments and tablets. The in-vitro drug release was performed to note the release rate of two types of tablets. It was observed that 3D-printed tablets released 100% CBZ in 120 minutes in the case of 40% infill tablets. While, the compressed tablets released 100% CBZ in 90 minutes