Drug-loaded mesoporous silica on carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel: Development of innovative 3D printed hydrophilic films

3D printing has been explored as an emerging technology for the development of versatile and printable materials for drug delivery. However, the alliance of 3D printing and nanomaterials has, to date, been little explored in pharmaceutics. Herein, a mesoporous silica with nanostructured pores, SBA-15, was used as a drug carrier for triamcinolone acetonide, a hydrophobic drug, with the aim of incorporating the drug formulation in a hydrophilic printable ink. The adsorption of the drug in the SBA-15 pores was confirmed by the decrease in its surface area and pore volume, along with an increase in the apparent aqueous solubility of triamcinolone acetonide, as shown by in vitro release studies.

Highlights

• A printable hydrogel containing drug-loaded mesoporous silica was produced.

• Hydrophilic films containing inorganic drug nanocarriers were 3D printed.

• 3D printed films showed complete drug release and improved in vitro mucoadhesion.

Thereafter, a hydrophilic ink composed of carboxymethyl cellulose containing drug-loaded SBA-15 was formulated and 3D printed as hydrophilic polymeric film using the semisolid extrusion technique (SSE). The 3D printed films showed complete drug release after 12 h, and the presence of the triamcinolone acetonide-loaded SBA-15 improved their in vitro mucoadhesion, suggesting their promising application in oral mucosa treatments. Besides representing an innovative platform to develop water-based mucoadhesive formulations containing a hydrophobic drug, this is the first report proposing the development of SSE 3D printed nanomedicines containing drug-loaded mesoporous silica.

See the article

Laís Maltha Schmidt, Juliana dos Santos, Thayse Viana de Oliveira, Nadine Lysyk Funk, Cesar Liberato Petzhold, Edilson Valmir Benvenutti, Monique Deon, Ruy Carlos Ruver Beck,
Drug-loaded mesoporous silica on carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel: Development of innovative 3D printed hydrophilic films, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Volume 620, 2022, 121750, ISSN 0378-5173,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.121750.