Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a single-step three-dimensional printing (3DP) process that\ncan be leveraged to engineer a wide array of drug delivery systems. The aim of this work was to\nutilise SLS 3DP, for the first time, to produce small oral dosage forms with modified release properties.\nAs such, paracetamol-loaded 3D printed multiparticulates, termed miniprintlets, were fabricated\nin 1 mm and 2 mm diameters. Despite their large surface area compared with a conventional\nmonolithic tablet, the ethyl cellulose-based miniprintlets exhibited prolonged drug release patterns.\nThe possibility of producing miniprintlets combining two drugs, namely paracetamol and ibuprofen,\nwas also investigated. By varying the polymer, the dual miniprintlets were programmed to achieve\ncustomised drug release patterns, whereby one drug was released immediately from a Kollicoat\nInstant Release matrix, whilst the effect of the second drug was sustained over an extended time\nspan using ethyl cellulose. Herein, this work has highlighted the versatility of SLS 3DP to fabricate\nsmall and intricate formulations containing multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients with distinct\nrelease properties.
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