Medical Design Briefs - August 2024 - 25

Targeted Drug Delivery/Personalized Medicine
this case, tiny metallic and fluorescent particles. The chirality
and folding of the helix played a crucial role in this process.
Stretched helices exhibited slower photodegradation compared
to their more compact counterparts. This opens up exciting
possibilities for gradual release of encapsulated substances,
a highly desirable feature for controlled drug delivery.
The findings, published in Angewandte Chemie, represent a
significant advancement in understanding the governing parameters
of helical polymer behavior.1
By manipulating these
parameters, the researchers envision a broad spectrum of applications
for these versatile compounds, spanning the fields of
biology and materials science. This breakthrough paves the way
for the development of next-generation nanocarriers with enRead
the full journal article.
hanced control over their properties and functions, offering
promising avenues for targeted drug delivery, bioimaging, and
nanomaterial design.
Reference
1. " Size Control of Chiral Nanospheres Obtained via Nanoprecipitation of Helical
Poly(phenylacetylene)s in the Absence of Surfactants. " Manuel NúñezMartínez,
Manuel Fernández-Míguez, Emilio Quiñoá, Felix Freire, Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, e202403313. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202403313.
Future Medications Could Be Personalized on a 3D
Printer
Widespread adoption will require stringent quality control measures.
NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
C
hocolate-flavored pills for children who hate taking medicine.
Several drugs combined into one daily pill for seniors
who have trouble remembering to take their medications.
Drugs printed at your local pharmacy at personalized
dosages that best suit your health needs. These are just a few
potential advantages of 3D drug printing, a new system for
manufacturing drugs and treatments on-site at pharmacies,
healthcare facilities, and other remote locations.
In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the
first 3D printed drug, Spritam (levetiracetam), for epilepsy.
Several other manufacturers and drug companies are developing
their own ones.
But the widespread adoption of 3D drug printing will require
stringent quality control measures to ensure that people
get the right medication and dosage. Even a tiny mismeasurement
of a drug's ingredient during the printing process could
endanger a patient's health.
In a new research paper, NIST research scientist Thomas
P. Forbes assesses various approaches to ensuring that 3D
drug printers work as designed. The journal article applies
a " quality by design " analysis to evaluate the best procedures
and protocols to ensure that 3D printers produce
drugs at the correct dosages and with the correct mix of
chemicals.
Though various methods exist for remotely printing drugs,
Forbes focused on one of the most common: inkjet printers and
similar systems that can print personalized medication on demand.
Like inkjet printers in homes, though larger, the printer has
nozzles that deposit the drug's liquefied materials, or inks, into
tiny wells on a tray or directly into capsules. Through freezedrying
and other processes, the liquid can be turned into a tablet
or powder poured into a capsule. It can also be evaporated
onto a thin film that dissolves in the mouth.
Forbes' paper does not make any recommendations. Instead,
his research identifies and tests several possible methods and
techniques for maintaining quality control in 3D drug printing.
Medical Design Briefs, August 2024
The Taking Measure blog spoke with Forbes about his research.
Q: What are some of the advantages of 3D drug printing?
A: When your doctor writes a prescription, she knows drugs
are available in certain dosages, and she'll choose the dosage
she thinks is best for you. Some drugs come in many sizes,
while others come in just one. 3D printing enables you to individualize
the dosage. You can do it based on the person's
age, health, even their immune system or genetic profile.
You can also personalize the form that the medicine takes.
Some patients may prefer a liquid to a capsule, for example.
There's also been research on polypills, which combine multiple
pills into a single drug. And some scientists have focused
on the benefits for children who don't like to take their medicine.
With 3D printing, you can create drugs shaped like starfishes
or ones that taste like chocolate.
Q: 3D drug printing also has the huge potential to change
vaccine distribution.
A: Yes, there's a lot of interest in providing " point-of-care "
locations where the vaccines would be printed near where
they're administered. You'd still have a larger facility making
the raw materials, but you could be much more agile and quicker
in getting the vaccine to the public. This would be hugely
helpful during another pandemic.
Q: Your research focuses on quality control and measurements
in 3D drug printing.
A: Yes, we will need to know that these 3D printers are
working correctly. They need to print the correct dosages with
the right ingredients. So, we will need on-site methods of taking
and validating measurements. This is an area where NIST
has a great deal of expertise.
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Medical Design Briefs - August 2024

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