Semi-solid extrusion 3D-printing of pharmaceutical forms with rosmarinic acid

The “one size fits all” conception is still common in medicine, but the new paradigm of personalised medicine is becoming more popular. One important “pharmaceutical tool” for fostering the implementation of personalised medicine is 3D printing. To date, there is very limited research in 3D-printing of plant-origin substances.

Rosmarinic acid (RA), first isolated from Rosmarinus officinalis, is a well-known plant-origin substance. The therapeutic efficacy of RA is dose dependent. The in-vivo studies with rats have shown that RA has anti- oxidative (2 mg/kg), hypoglycemic (120–200 mg/kg), antiviral (20 mg/kg), neuroprotective (50 mg/kg) and hepatoprotective (10 mg/kg) effects. RA is sparingly soluble in water, which limits its bioavailability.

The aim of this study was to develop aqueous gels for semi-solid extrusion (SSE) 3D-printing, and to design novel 3D-printed delivery systems for RA.

Polyethylene oxide (PEO) and gelatin were investigated as carrier polymers for 3D-printing. The gels with a RA concentration up to 20% were well printable. Some gels were unprintable after a short-term storage because of the high oxidative activity of RA. The viscosity of the gels was in the range of 256700-345100 cP. The injection force ranged from 26.1 N to 36.2 N. The RA-loaded gels were 3D-printed to full squares (lattices) and round discs. The lattice area ratio (printed vs theoretical) was 1.34-1.72.

In conclusion, the present aqueous PEO gels loaded with the RA are feasible in pharmaceutical SSE 3D- printing.

Funding This work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant (PRG1903) MSCA4Ukraine (1232466).

 

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023