Defined drug release from 3D-printed composite tablets consisting of drug-loaded polyvinylalcohol and a water-soluble or water-insoluble polymer filler

Abstract 3D-printed tablets are a promising new approach for personalized medicine. In this study, we fabricated composite tablets consisting of two components, a drug and a filler, by using a fused deposition modeling-type 3D printer. Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) polymer containing calcein (a model drug) was used as the drug component and PVA or polylactic acid (PLA) polymer without drug was used as the water-soluble or water-insoluble filler, respectively. Various kinds of drug-PVA/PVA and drug-PVA/PLA composite tablets were designed, and the 3D-printed tablets exhibited good formability. The surface area of the exposed drug component is highly correlated with the initial drug release rate. Composite tablets with an exposed top and a bottom covered with a PLA layer were fabricated. These tablets showed zero-order drug release by maintaining the surface area of the exposed drug component during drug dissolution. In contrast, the drug release profile varied for tablets whose exposed surface area changed. Composite tablets with different drug release lag times were prepared by changing the thickness of the PVA filler coating the drug component. These results which used PVA and PLA filler will provide useful information for preparing the tablets with multi-components and tailor-made tablets with defined drug release profiles using 3D printers.