Koshovyi Oleh, Heinämäki Jyrki, Shpychak Alina, Meos Andres, Topelius Niklas Sandler, Raal Ain
Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, 50144 Tartu, Estonia.
Department of Pharmacognosy and Nutriciology, The National University of Pharmacy, 61002 Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Pharmaceutics. 2025 Jul 3;17(7):878. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17070878.
Flavonoids are a vast class of phenolic substances. To date, approximately 6000 plant-origin flavonoids have been discovered, with many of them being used in drug therapy. Therapeutic flavonoids are commonly formulated to conventional "one-size-fits-all" dosage forms, such as conventional tablets or hard capsules. However, the current trends in pharmacy and medicine are centred on personalised drug therapy and drug delivery systems (DDSs). Therefore, 3D printing is an interesting technique for designing and preparing novel personalised pharmaceuticals for flavonoids. The aim of the present study was to develop aqueous polyethylene oxide (PEO) gel inks loaded with rutin for semisolid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing. Rutin (a model substance for therapeutic flavonoids), Tween 80, PEO (MW approx. 900,000), ethanol, and purified water were used in PEO gels at different proportions. The viscosity and homogeneity of the gels were determined. The rutin-PEO gels were printed with a bench-top Hyrel 3D printer into lattices and discs, and their weight and effective surface area were investigated. The key SSE 3D-printing process parameters were established and verified. The results showed the compatibility of rutin as a model flavonoid and PEO as a carrier polymer. The rutin content (%) and content uniformity of the 3D-printed preparations were assayed by UV spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The most feasible aqueous PEO gel ink formulation for SSE 3D printing contained rutin 100 mg/mL and Tween 80 50 mg/mL in a 12% aqueous PEO gel. The 3D-printed dosage forms are intended for the oral administration of flavonoids.
黄酮类化合物是一大类酚类物质。迄今为止，已发现约6000种植物源黄酮类化合物，其中许多已用于药物治疗。治疗用黄酮类化合物通常制成传统的“一刀切”剂型，如传统片剂或硬胶囊。然而，药学和医学的当前趋势集中在个性化药物治疗和药物递送系统（DDS）上。因此，3D打印是一种用于设计和制备新型黄酮类个性化药物的有趣技术。本研究的目的是开发用于半固体挤出（SSE）3D打印的负载芦丁的水性聚环氧乙烷（PEO）凝胶油墨。芦丁（治疗用黄酮类化合物的模型物质）、吐温80、PEO（分子量约900,000）、乙醇和纯净水以不同比例用于PEO凝胶中。测定了凝胶的粘度和均匀性。用台式Hyrel 3D打印机将芦丁-PEO凝胶打印成格子和圆盘，并研究了它们的重量和有效表面积。确定并验证了关键的SSE 3D打印工艺参数。结果表明芦丁作为模型黄酮类化合物与PEO作为载体聚合物具有相容性。通过紫外分光光度法和高效液相色谱法（HPLC）测定了3D打印制剂的芦丁含量（%）和含量均匀度。用于SSE 3D打印的最可行的水性PEO凝胶油墨配方是在12%的水性PEO凝胶中含有100 mg/mL的芦丁和50 mg/mL的吐温80。这些3D打印剂型旨在用于口服黄酮类化合物。
