With increased interest in patient-specific dosage forms to tailor treatment and improve patient compliance, 3D printed drug formulations and devices have garnered a great deal of attention. The study presented aims to investigate parameters that impact characteristics of drug-eluting devices fabricated using a novel 3D-printing method, Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Our goal is to understand how design parameters such as formulation of liquid photopolymer resins, material properties of resulting parts, and device geometry affect drug release and degradation kinetics. In turn, these lessons can be applied towards engineering biodegradable, implantable drug-eluting devices with parameters that meet the clinical needs of individual patients. Model devices containing rhodamine B base (RhB), chemotherapeutic docetaxel (DTXL), or corticosteroid dexamethasone (DEX) were fabricated using UV-reactive resins formulated from custom synthesized polycaprolactone-dimethacrylate (PCL-DMA) combined with various small molecule or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based reactive diluents. These model devices displayed thermal properties, drug release rates, and degradation kinetics that were dependent on molecular weight and functionality of the diluent used. To explore the effect of device geometry on release kinetics, RhB release was monitored from a model device filled with different geometric unit cells to provide various surface area to volume ratios (SA:V). It was observed that RhB release was correlated to the SA:V ratio of the 3D printed part. These principles were then utilized to instruct design parameters of chemotherapeutic-loaded brachytherapy spacers to be used in combination with brachytherapy radiation for localized treatment of prostate tumors. <i>In vitro </i>studies showed spacers containing DTXL displayed cytotoxicity towards LnCAP prostate cancer cells, while spacers without drug were biocompatible.

Drug-eluting devices fabricated using the 3D printing technique Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) for controlled release applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.