Development of printable inks for 3D printing of personalized dosage forms: Coupling of fused deposition modelling and jet dispensing

3D printing technologies have gained significant attention for the development of personalized pharmaceutical dosage forms. Here we present the coupling of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) and jet dispensing for the printing of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) tablets followed by dispensing of rosuvastatin calcium (RSV) – polymer inks for customization of the drug dissolution rates. By using the drop on demand approach, methacrylate (EUDRAGIT EPO), vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (Kollidon VA64), and ethylcellulose (Aqualon) inks loaded with RSV were dispensed in FDM printed tablets, bearing 5 and 15 mg of active dose respectively. Physicochemical characterization revealed that RSV was molecularly dispersed in the deposited inks. Various dissolution rates were obtained based on the polymer solubility in the dissolution media and the drug loading. The study is a paradigm of printing personalized dosage forms through the development of suitable inks.