A Novel Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Process for Drug Delivery Systems with Locally Incorporated Drug Depots

Here, we present a new hybrid additive manufacturing (AM) process to create drug delivery systems (DDSs) with selectively incorporated drug depots. The matrix of a DDS was generated by stereolithography (SLA), whereas the drug depots were loaded using inkjet printing. The novel AM process combining SLA with inkjet printing was successfully implemented in an existing SLA test setup. In the first studies, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate-based specimens with integrated depots were generated. As test liquids, blue and pink ink solutions were used. Furthermore, bovine serum albumin labeled with Coomassie blue dye as a model drug was successfully placed in a depot inside a DDS. The new hybrid AM process makes it possible to place several drugs independently of each other within the matrix. This allows adjustment of the release profiles of the drugs depending on the size as well as the position of the depots in the DDS.