Engineering 3D printed gummies loaded with metformin for paediatric use

Santamaria, Karla J. and Anaya, Bryan J. and Lalatsa, Aikaterini and González-Barranco, Patricia and Cantú-Cárdenas, Lucia and Serrano, Dolores R. (2024) Engineering 3D printed gummies loaded with metformin for paediatric use. Gels, 10 (10). 620. ISSN 2310-2861 (https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10100620)

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Abstract

In today's pharmaceutical landscape, there's an urgent need to develop new drug delivery sys-tems that are appealing and effective in ensuring therapeutic adherence, particularly among paediatric patients. The advent of 3D printing in medicine is revolutionizing this space by ena-bling the creation of precise, customizable, and visually appealing dosage forms. In this study, we produce 250 mg metformin paediatric gummies based on semi-solid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing technique. A pharmaceutical ink containing metformin was successfully formulated with optimal flow properties suitable for room-temperature printing. Using a quality-by-design approach, 3D printing and casting methodologies were compared. The 3D-printed gummies exhibited better firmness and sustained release at earlier times to avoid metformin release in the oral cavity and ensure palatability. The texture and physical appearance match those of gummies commercially available. In conclusion, SSE allowed for the successful manufacture of 3D-printed sugar-free gummies for the treatment of diabetes mellitus for paediatric is an easily translatable into clinical practice approach.

ORCID iDs

Santamaria, Karla J., Anaya, Bryan J., Lalatsa, Aikaterini ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4791-7468, González-Barranco, Patricia, Cantú-Cárdenas, Lucia and Serrano, Dolores R.;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)